The Heroes of Time
by AmyDonovan525
Summary: My first fanfiction ever! After a massive tragedy, Kana, Grovyle, Piplup, and Celebi work together to stop the planet's paralysis and save the world...no matter how long it takes! Characters from WALL-E only appear in the first and last chapters.
1. Panic Aboard the Axiatomic Link!

The Heroes of Time

Back story of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Darkness

By Amy Donovan (Tuesday, October 14, 2008)

Welcome! I wrote this story almost exactly one year ago, back before I knew Explorers of Sky was coming out. As a result, this is what I believed to be the events before the game started. It answers several questions such as: Why aren't there any humans in the future world if the main character came from the future? You get the idea. Some of the theories may be absolutely outlandish, but I believed they made sense at the time. Furthermore, because I didn't like the ending from the original games, you'll see many events completely changed around when you reach that point (not until Chapter 7, though). Compare the dialogue to my other more recent works, and you'll see how much I've progressed as a writer in one year! Enjoy!

Note: The crossover between here and Wall-E occurs in this chapter **only!**

Chapter 1: Panic Aboard the Axiatomic Link

Once upon a time--I mean, 500 years into the future…

A hospitable new planet has been sighted! On the planet Earth, humans have successfully developed the hyperdrive engine. It was installed into the newest flagship, the Axiatomic Link. Now a crew has been chosen to board the Axiatomic Link, journey to the new planet, and start a colony. As the flagship left Earth's atmosphere, the people aboard were filled with pride and excitement at being able to start a new life. They were becoming the masters of space!

But one couple aboard the ship had a different goal in mind. They wanted to become the masters of **time.** This family consisted of three people, all with shiny black hair: Roy Amara, a 25-year-old quantum physicist who was famous for vehemently arguing with the other scientists to no end; Jean Amara, 24-year-old assistant physicist whose fashion sense in kimonos was unparalleled; and their daughter, 2-**month**-old Kana Amara, who was born way back on Earth one month before they boarded the Axiatomic Link.

Anyway, Roy and Jean Amara decided to use the ship's laboratory equipment for their experiment: To endow a person with the ability to see the past or future. Future goals included being able to manipulate time itself. Using dubious lab equipment and too many atomic clocks, they manipulated particles on the atomic level that permeated the 4th dimension, and other processes too futuristic to describe. They did this entire experiment in a secret room, away from all the other passenger rooms, during bedtime. Why? Because weird experiments like these were forbidden.

At 2:55:01am, Mr. & Mrs. Amara finally created a mysterious light that glowed in fiery colors, contained in a glass jar. Time seemed to contort around it, and scenes from the past or future could occasionally be seen. That night, in absolute secrecy, they split the light into 3 parts; one for Roy, one for Jean, and one for Kana. They held it right up to themselves…and absorbed the light.

Unfortunately, a random robot named GO-4 _just happened _to glimpse the room through the door's low-set circular window. Alarmed by what he saw, GO-4 sped to his master, the captain of the Axiatomic Link. The "captain" was a steering wheel-shaped robot named Auto who managed all the business on the ship. A few seconds later, Auto and his security robot guard cronies found the room they were in, snuck in there from the ceiling as silently as a spider, and right when he was behind them, yelled:

"ROY AND JEAN AMARA! YOU TWO ARE ORDERED TO COME TO THE DETENTION ROOM **RIGHT NOW!**" Before they could react, the two security robot guards standing behind Roy, Jean, Kana, and all the experimental equipment instantly seized them all. The security guards then dragged everyone into the Detention Room and threw them onto the floor. Apparently the secret room was right next door to the Detention Room. Auto ran a scan over everything, then turned to the couple. Next to Auto was the monitor that listed one big rule clearly for Mr. & Mrs. Amara to see. It read:

Axiatomic Link Regulation 752.30:

No unauthorized experiments will be tolerated, especially those that jeopardize the health of people aboard the ship. Violators will be abandoned on a deserted planet/asteroid, whichever comes first.

"Roy and Jean Amara. You have been hereby charged with breaking the big regulation: The development and performance of an **unauthorized experiment!!** What were you doing in there!?" The hulking, intimidating captain reprimanded them with a booming digitized voice that got into their head and makes it nearly impossible to think of a rebuttal. With his malevolent red "eye", his frighteningly fast agility, cold, calculating logic, and his ability to call upon an arsenal of weapons and security guards, it was clear he wouldn't take any excuses.

Roy cut in. "W-we're sorry, captain. We just--"

Auto then noticed the abundance of atomic clocks and 4th dimension diagrams. "Messing with **time**, are we?"

Roy: "No sir. We just had a theory-- "

"YOU KNOW THAT MESSING WITH TIME CAN BRING ABOUT CATASTROPHIC CONSEQUENCES FOR ALL OF HISTORY! IF YOU CHANGE **ANYTHING **IN THE PAST THE RESULTING PARADOXES WOULD DEVASTATE EVERYTHING IN THE FUTURE! DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND!?" bellowed Auto, getting angrier by the minute.

"But--but--" they stammered.

DING-DONG! went the monitor. The regulations were replaced by a diagram of a dark barren planet. The readings indicated:

Upcoming planet: 12 light-years away and counting.

The display was showing a stark gray, barren-looking planet crumbling apart. Auto decided this was the perfect place for the punishment. "You know the rules" he said as he input some commands into the giant computer console on the nearby wall. "This is where you will be abandoned. Hand me your ID cards."

"NO!" screamed Roy and Jean Amara. They tried to run away, but the security guards caught them. Then Auto swiped their ID cards so fast no one even saw it happen until a second later when he held the cards. He then inserted the cards into the console and typed out some commands. The screen showed the ID's of Roy, Jean, and Kana Amara all turn **gray** at 3:04:43 on August 23, 2510. A gray ID card meant deceased.

"NOOOO!! GIVE US ANOTHER CHANCE! **PLEASE!**"they pleaded. Auto pretended to not notice. "Irrelevant. I must complete my directive," he said, with such cold logic that only he, the mighty Auto, could muster so successfully.

Then the Axiatomic Link came to a stop. It jumped out of hyperspeed and started flying in towards the deserted planet. As it was landing, everyone on the ship had already been woken up by Auto's tirade and noticed the odd landscape outside their windows. This wasn't the planet they came to colonize. So what was going on?

"Well, it's been nice knowing you too. You both had brilliant minds, but it's too bad you decided to use them to threaten the entire existence of human civilization. Oh well, you made your choice. Any last words?" sympathetically mocked Auto. By now, Mr. & Mrs. Amara were tied up by the security guards.

"This experiment has the potential to see conflicts before they happen. We could use this to preserve peace for eternity!" pleaded Jean.

"Let's hope you aren't making the biggest mistake in human history. We are the only ones who ever know how to do these." said Roy, in an ominous tone while glaring straight into Auto's eye. "Good to know," replied Auto.

Kana Amara was asleep throughout this entire harangue. Roy and Jean later wondered how that was even possible, what with all the shouting.

Neither Auto nor the security guards were swayed in the least. Obviously, they're machines; they're like that. As the regulators of all activity and security aboard the ship, they have to be. "Goodbye!" said Auto. And to the security guards: "Do it!"

BOOT! Roy, Jean, baby Kana Amara, and all the experimental equipment (including the numerous atomic clocks) were literally kicked out by the security guards. They landed sprawled out on the rocky surface, all tied up. Then the hatch was closed. The engines fired up and the ship began to rise. All of the passengers stared out the windows to the rouge scientists dumped out onto the planet below. Some unsympathetic ones even took sadistic pride in waving goodbye to them (and some people just waved for the fun of it). There weren't many people who knew the Amara couple, and even if they did, they were too groggy to notice. Roy and Jean were considered mavericks among the scientific community, anyway. And absolutely no one knew who Kana was.

"NO! WAIT! COME BACK!" they yelled in anguish. They were especially pained by the people waving goodbye at them. They were even more pained by the fact that they were bound by flexible supertough ropes and could only crawl after the ship. And with that…the Axiatomic Link left the planet, went back into hyperspace, and flew away to never return.

"Oh no…."

Roy and Jean Amara looked at the bleak landscape around them. It was covered in perpetual-looking darkness, with chunks of the ground breaking up and floating in the air. Nothing was moving. No life could possibly survive here for very long. As they held their daughter, they could only look around in bleak anticipation of their terrible new life. Their only thought was:

_What in the world can we do now?_

To be continued…


	2. On a Doomed Planet

Chapter 2: On a Doomed Planet

Journal of a Disgruntled Scientist on a Doomed Planet.

By Roy Amara.

First day of banishment:

Auto kicked us out of the Axiatomic Link just for trying to develop our "Dimensional Scream" experiment. He didn't even give us a second chance! **Stupid wheel! **I really wish we used the scream right after we fused ourselves with it so we could've seen him coming. But it's too late for regrets now. The Axiatomic Link…I hope it'll return soon. I don't want to stay on this terrible planet another second!

Shortly after we were kicked out, we managed to untie ourselves. Then we searched for some shelter. As we walked, we looked in despair at the landscape. The planet was falling apart! Literally! And why was it so dark? Could any life survive here, anyway? 30 minutes later, we finally found a cave entrance. And in there…was LIFE! It was a ghostly looking creature with a red eye in the center of its face. Like Auto…yeesh. And why did I feel a gravitational force from it?

I think it was an alien. We couldn't understand what it was saying! It kept saying things like "Dusclops. Dusclops. Duuuuusclops." What the heck does "Dusclops" even mean!? And then it shot a shadowy ball of some sort at us! We ran away for about 5 minutes (I think. I was too scared to count.), until we finally found a cave with no one else in it. The creatures here are so dangerous!

After Jean and I set up a campfire, we discussed about our daughter Kana. It just chills me to know that she was going to be raised in a dystopian world like this. But there was no choice now. At the very least, we would continue our Dimensional Scream experiment. We might as well learn how this planet turned into this hopeless state. …I'm tired. Time to go to sleep. I hope the sun rises soon…

Unfortunately…the sun never rose.

In fact, it never would rise. Roy and Jean Amara, much to their dismay, discovered that the planet was paralyzed. In other words, the rotation had permanently stopped. They wondered why the night side--the side they were on--wasn't bitterly cold. _Maybe the planet's rotation stopped only recently_, Roy thought. _But if that was the case, then the temperature will plummet 40 degrees or so in the next 48 hours! OH NO! …Or maybe we're right between the day and night sides. But wouldn't we see some of the sun…?_

While Roy pontificated on these perplexing issues, he was busily working on preparing the atomic clocks and other random scientific machines for the next Dimensional Scream experiment. The cave they found was moderately spacious, with multiple small rooms branching off the main one they were in, and some upper tiers acting like the second floor. Although there were some stalactites on the ceiling, Roy didn't have to worry about them falling since they seemed paralyzed, too. For some reason, there were no stalagmites on the ground (_Probably been cleared away by the natives_, thought Roy.). He wrote on a stone "table" next to the campfire flickering in the center of the room. Meanwhile, Jean was trying to feed Kana whatever "baby food" they found. At least they were smart enough to grab a survival kit right before they were kicked off the Axiatomic Link.

3 years later…

3-year-old Kana stumbled into the nearby petrified forest to find a green egg tucked away inside of the base of a petrified tree. Entranced, she crawled for a closer look when she heard a bloodcurdling ROAR behind her!

"Who the HECK are you!?"

She turned to see a gigantic blue dragon with terrifying black eyes and fins that could slice a tree in two! "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!" she screamed, running away as fast as she could. But she wasn't fast enough--she tripped on a root. And then the dragon's right fin smacked her into the air right back to the cave. Luckily, she landed in a nearby tree and wasn't seriously hurt, but staggered back inside the cave crying to Jean and Roy.

A few days later, she ended up in the same forest again, but caught a glimpse of the blue dragon moving away. Suddenly, something brushed by! "AAAH!" But it turned out to be a friendly-looking gecko-creature with some green eggshell pieces over him. "Tree…cko?" he said.

Kana realized that this creature wasn't a monster and didn't mean any harm. She decided to bring him along with her--in secret.

2 years later…

Journal of a Very Disgruntled Former Scientist on a Ridiculously Doomed Planet.

By Roy Amara.

Wow…It's been a long time since I wrote in this journal. The only way I can tell how much time has passed is by these atomic clocks. They show that we've been here for 5 years, but it felt like forever! Even worse, no matter how many times Jean, Kana or I have tried to use the Dimensional Scream, it never worked! According to our data, if we **touch something**, we should be able to see the past or future of the object. In conclusion, this planet's paralysis was really caused by the stopping of time, so no time ever flows here. Then what's the point of doing this anymore, anyway?

We are still no closer to understanding the native creatures. Just yesterday there was this one creepy giraffe thingy that shouted "Girafarig!" at us over and over again. And then its tail bit me! Oww…I still feel it. We ran away as fast as we could. I think I'm starting to understand that these creatures are speaking their own name. But what kind of alien language would there be where the species repeat their own names?

Kana, on the other hand, seems to know some of--

"KANA! What are you doing!?"

In a recessed corner of the cave, 5-year-old Kana was feeding a petrified twig to a tiny gecko-like creature. Jean immediately tried to pull Kana away.

"But Mama, he's harmless!" complained Kana.

"I don't care! I can't have you getting sick or hurt now."

"Treecko! Treecko! Treecko!" yelled the gecko creature. _I won't hurt her! I promise!_

"See? He says that he won't hurt me! He even promised!" translated Kana.

Jean was getting tired of this. "But--this gecko--"

Kana: "His name is Treecko. He's my friend, Mama!"

Jean decided to stop arguing and start working on dinner--petrified Oran Berries with more petrified leftover apples for a "stew". She set up the "pot" and tried to make a fire. "Fine, sweetie. But don't forget to let me know if you get hurt!"

Kana and Treecko sat down to discuss things.

"What's wrong, Kana?", Treecko asked.

"I just don't understand why Mama and Papa can't understand Pokémon like you, Treecko," Kana explained.

"I don't, either. Are they aliens?"

"What's an alien?" Kana asked.

"They're creatures that come from outer space. Did they?"

"I heard them talk about an Axiatomic Link. I think they were on it. And it came from space…so…"

"I guess so."

"Hey, Treecko. What about YOUR mama and papa?"

"My mom and dad? My mom was Sceptile and my dad was Garchomp. That's probably why I know how to dig". He starts digging as an example.

"I mean, where are they?"

"Oh! They left soon after I was born. See, we Pokémon can take care of ourselves. Why don't you come play with me more often?"

"Mama and Papa won't let me go out there by myself. Not even with you."

"I think it's because you humans aren't self-sufficient. At least at your age."

"**I** wanna be self-suff--suffi--**be able to take care of myself**! Maybe you can teach me, Treecko? Pleeeeaaase?"

"Sure thing, Kana! Anything to help a friend!"

Roy Amara watched intently as the gecko--I mean, Treecko--proceeded to show Kana how to fight, how to dig to escape enemies, and various other weird-looking survival techniques that Kana couldn't even get close to emulating, but at least she tried.

He then resumed writing in his journal while waiting for dinner to be served.

Okay, scratch that. Kana **understands** each and every word these "Pokémon" are saying. How can anyone get meaning out of the same word repeated over and over again!? My hypothesis is that Kana's early days were brought up with her listening to these alien words all the time, so she must've learned to sense the many undulations in their speech. On the other hand, these creatures can understand what we're saying. But we can't understand them! How weird is this?

Since the Axiatomic Link won't ever come back, and there's little chance of another spaceship flying by, it looks like Jean and I will have to live here for the rest of our lives…and rely on Kana for translations. Time to take this Dimensional Scream experiment to the next level. -End of today's entry-

Roy sighed. _I guess this is the price we pay for being mavericks in the scientific community…whatever that is anymore._ He looked around the cave, at the makeshift home they made, at the worn-out beds and hammocks, at the scientific equipment, at the bag of food gathered, at Kana and Treecko duking it out (Kana is winning, surprisingly), at Jean busily making the dinner as best as it can be, and at the mouth of the cave with the dystopian landscape outside. He then went to work on the experiment, making modifications as he deemed necessary.

3 years later…

Roy and Jean were trundling along, carrying a bag of berries they had to gather for the **7****th**** time that week **(?) when they experienced it. They merely brushed by a tree, but that was enough. They clutched their head and dropped the bag. They were getting dizzy…and then they got a vision. It was a gear glowing blue in the middle of a forest clearing. When they came to, they realized what just happened. The Dimensional Scream worked! "Eureka!" Roy and Jean exclaimed. _Eureka! I never thought I'd ever be able to say "Eureka" in my life! _They ran back into the cavern (no, they didn't forget the bag of berries) more excited than they've ever been.

And where was 8-year-old Kana? She was busy playing outside with Treecko and some of his other friends in the petrified forest. But since they were close to the cave, she could hear snippets of the following conversation:

Jean: "So does this mean we can continue with our Dimensional Scream experiment!?"

"Of course!" said Roy. "Now is the time to control time! Hopefully we can learn enough about the past so we can eventually restore this ruined world to normal!"

"Huh? That was in the past?"

"Yes! There's no future since time has stopped, so that vision must've been in the past! That's the only thing we can try to change with our new experiment!"

Jean thought about this. "Yeah, but…if we changed history…**wouldn't we disappear too?**"

"Oh." said Roy. He was stumped. Then… "Well maybe if we travel to the past and live there we **won't **disappear!"

"Oh yeah! Good idea! Let's get started so that we can time-travel as soon as possible!" Jean immediately started helping Roy with the new experiment, and they were happier than they've ever been since their experiments on the Axiatomic Link. Their thoughts were: _We'll finally be able to do something good for this planet for once! Then we'll be able to live in a better, more beautiful world! And then spaceships will see this beautiful planet and rescue us! Then we'll get to go back to Earth AND to the K-2L colony and benefit humanity for all time! Oh yeah! _

Little did they know how much more trouble this mavericky-ness was going to get them all into…

To be continued…


	3. Fatal Retribution

Chapter 3: Fatal Retribution

Meanwhile…

Far away, at the ruins of a collapsed tower long ago worn away by time…lived a deity far more powerful than any creature on the planet. His name is Primal Dialga. At 14'07" tall (1,505.8 lbs), glowing red eyes scary enough to rival that of AUTO, his steel-dragon type, and a twisted brain long ago went stark raving mad, he rules Planet Portania with an iron grip. He is a primordial presence, living only to protect his very existence, commands legions of desperate followers with no place to go…and can speak in only the most primitive or phrases.

Primal Dialga suddenly noticed a rift in the time-continuum. It was to the Eastern Forest, or what was left of it. _Someone, somehow_, managed to breach into the past and glimpse something there. This was disastrous for Primal Dialga. If anyone saw what happened in the past and longed for it, or worse, found a way to avert it, his very existence would be erased. He would not let this transgression go unpunished! Above all his oppressive rules, there was one that stood above all:

Those who seek to alter the course of history…shall be eliminated from history.

Standing over his bottomless pit-throne was his newest follower: a recently evolved Dusknoir. Dusknoir was a very creepy ghost-type Pokémon 7'03" tall (235 lbs) with a black-hole mouth on his chest and an antenna for receiving transmissions from the spirit world (which has absolutely nothing to do with this story. Sorry.). He was summoned to Primal Dialga for his first mission.

"GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR…" commanded Primal Dialga. _What do you know of the alien beings that caused the rift?_

"I know them, Master Dialga." said Dusknoir. "They were humans who were kicked off a spaceship by their own kind a long time ago. I should know. When I was a Dusclops, I encountered them when they arrived. I do not think they understood me at all…I asked why they were here and tested their strength. They ran away."

"GRRRRRRRRRRRR…" _And they have now become a threat. Capture them and bring them to the Stockade. I will decide what to do with them then._

Dusknoir replied "I do not know why or how they are manipulating time, but if you say so, Master Dialga, it will be done. Sableye!"

A legion of Dark-Ghost type purple Pokémon popped out of nowhere and surrounded Dusknoir. He said to them, "This is our first mission. Let's go!"

"Wheh-heh-heh! Let's go! Let's go!" Like Primal Dialga, the Sableye were also capable of vocalizations…mostly. With Dusknoir leading the way, the group sharpened their claws and marched off to apprehend said "threat people."

________________________________________________________________________

Roy and Jean Amara were hard at work on their time-travel experiment, which seemed to be having many more complications than the Dimensional Scream experiment. As a result, they had to actually _focus_ instead of multitasking while loafing around like they usually do. They were so focused they never even noticed Kana and Treecko sneak up and watch them working. Suddenly, Kana and Treecko heard voices outside the cave.

"…We'll take them by surprise, tie them up, and stuff them in these bags. Don't worry, they can't understand what we're saying…"

Mr. & Mrs. Amara couldn't understand (they didn't hear, anyway), but Kana and Treecko did. "Do you hear that?" Treecko whispered.

"Yeah" Kana whispered. "What do they mean we can't understand what they're--" "Wheh-heh-heh!!!!"

Hearing that they weren't fooling Kana, the Sableye put their plan into action instantly. They took everyone by surprise and tied up Roy, Jean, and Kana Amara. Knocking Treecko out of the way, they then stuffed the people into bags just like they planned. Then Dusknoir came into the cave to search it--and was astounded to find all of the lab equipment (yes, the atomic clocks too) in there. "All this--alien technology--is a threat to Master Dialga! Destroy it!" he commanded.

The Sableye ransacked, scratched, destroyed the place, and beat up Treecko again. Then they hoisted the bags over their heads and followed Dusknoir to the Stockade miles and miles away. All this time, Roy, Jean, and Kana couldn't believe what was happening, but couldn't speak because their mouths were taped over. No one could save them. But…

From the ruined cavern, Treecko slowly gathered his strength again. "KANA!!!" he yelled. He ran after the Sableye, being careful enough not to be seen.

At the Stockade…Dusknoir and the Sableye came through the gate into a stadium like the one from Star Wars Episode II on Geonosis, only it wasn't as colorful (it was grayscale), much smaller, and had no spectators. They turned out the lights, dumped the Amaras out of the bags, and tied Roy and Jean to two of the three columns. They then tried to tie Kana, but Dusknoir held them back. "I think this one can understand us. Don't tie her yet." he commanded.

When Roy and Jean could see again, they were momentarily blinded by spotlights--on them. _Where are we!? _they thought. Suddenly, creepy orange bands of light appeared in front of them, followed by--OH NO--two bright red eyes that reminded them of AUTO, only ten times scarier! Then the rest of the lights turned on--and revealed Dusknoir, the Sableye, an empty column right next to them, Kana tied up, and right in front of them, Primal Dialga!!

"GRRRRRRRRRRRRR…" growled Primal Dialga.

"Humans! Master Dialga says that you have been found guilty of attempting to alter history!" translated Dusknoir.

"Huh?" Roy and Jean couldn't understand all the babble going on. Dusknoir realized this a bit late. "Hey!" he shoved Kana, "Tell them what I just said, human!"

"Uuuhh…" stammered Kana.

"TELL THEM!!" This time, he pushed her down.

"Quit hurting her!" shouted Jean.

"Master Dialga says…you have been found guilty…of at--attempting to alter history." said Kana, finally. Dusknoir noted "Very good."

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR…

"You are now to be executed" translated Dusknoir.

"You are now…to be…ex--exe---executed" Kana translated of Dusknoir's translation of Primal Dialga. The reason she had difficultly saying that was that she was also trying to stifle sobs.

"Execution!? But we didn't do anything wrong!?" yelled Mr. & Mrs. Amara in exasperation. _This is even worse than AUTO!_

"Master Dialga rules over this Planet Portania. You have broken his ultimate law by attempting to alter history. And we've discovered your experiments **messing with time**! This is merely the **retribution **you so deeply deserve!!" Dusknoir angrily translated. Kana said the same, but with a much sadder tone.

"Any…last…words?" Kana finally translated.

This really was just like the last time right before AUTO kicked them out of the Axiatomic Link. But the punishment was much worse. And there really was no hope. Roy couldn't think of anything to say anymore, except "So this is how it ends. The Axiatomic Link never came back, and we're going to die here." He hung his head in defeat.

Jean cried "We're sorry for everything that happened to you, Kana! But please stay alive! Promise me you'll finish what we started! We love you!!!!"

"Me too…I promise." said Kana in such a low voice that no one could hear it.

The Sableye finished sharpening their claws. "Then we are ready to begin!"

"Good" commanded Dusknoir. "Do not take your eyes off them until the end. Begin the executions!"

In a series of fury swipes, shadow balls, and other execution attacks too gruesome to describe, Roy and Jean Amara lived out their last moments in total agony. They were mavericks within the scientific community known for trying to become the masters of time. They were shunned by the other scientists and kicked off the Axiatomic Link by AUTO for breaking the rules. And now, they were being executed for breaking Primal Dialga's ultimate law. It was almost fitting that their punishment was equal to their mavericky-ness. It was the ultimate fatal retribution.

"Mama! Papa! NOOOOOOOOOO!!" cried Kana. But there was nothing she could do. The ropes (and Sableye) were holding her back with so much force that even if she had the proportional strength of an ant (50 times her own weight), she still wouldn't be able to break free. Seeing her own parents executed right in front of her like this…It was the most terrible trauma anyone could endure.

When the ordeal was finally over, hidden chutes opened underneath Roy and Jean. They lifelessly fell down through them, then the chutes closed. Satisfied, Primal Dialga stepped out of the stadium to go back to his bottomless pit-throne. "You may now do the same for the little one" he ordered to Dusknoir.

"WHAT!?" Even though Kana couldn't tell word for word what Primal Dialga said, she got the general idea. "That's right." said Dusknoir in an ominous tone. **"**You've lived out your purpose. **You're next." **

"NOOOOOOO! LET ME GO! LET ME GOOOOO!" The Sableye just kept pushing her to the middle column (where Jean once was). She was tied up, and the Sableye were ready to strike once more. Was there no hope for Kana, too…!?

Just then, with the absence of Primal Dialga, Treecko lept into the stadium (he was also so far behind the Sableye, he took this long to reach the place). "KANA!!!"

"Treecko!?" Kana turned her head to see Treecko coming in from her right. As he charged, he began to glow with a bright white light. Kana's ropes were slashed. And in an instant, she found herself being carried by a much taller version of what was once Treecko (with a lot more leaves, too). Treecko had evolved!

"My name is now Grovyle. I'm glad I made it in time…Kana." He then carried her out of the stadium and the Stockade so fast that no one noticed them leave. In fact, Dusknoir and the Sableye were still shielding their eyes from the glare of the evolution light. They were dismayed to see the column empty and the ropes slashed. "Where did she go!? Find them! FIND THEM!!" ordered Dusknoir. His real thought: _Whew. Good thing Master Dialga didn't see this._

Kana was never carried (or moved) faster in her whole life. That's how fast Grovyle was. He ran and jumped ridiculously fast and yet never looked so dashing and valiant at the same time. He kept moving until they reached the same cave where Kana and her parents were captured.

"It's all gone…they destroyed everything" said Kana. She began to sob, and Grovyle carried her to the forest so they wouldn't be captured by Dusknoir again. She was still sobbing when Grovyle finally laid her down.

"Mama…Papa…they're gone! They're gooooooonne!!!! WAAAAAH!!"

Grovyle tried to comfort her "Ssssh. It's okay. It's all right."

"Treeck--I mean, Grovyle…Why are you different all of a sudden?"

"It's called evolution" Grovyle explained. "Whenever a Pokémon gains enough experience, or even when the most urgent time presents itself, we can evolve. I'm faster and stronger now. I can protect us both. But if you don't want me to evolve anymore…that's okay."

"Mama and Papa are gone…Grovyle…What can…I do…from now on?" Kana was still sobbing. Her mind still burned with the ghastly scene.

"Do what they asked of you. It's tough times like these where you have to be strong. You have to go on, Kana. You have to live!"

Kana's mind flashed back to what her mom told her: "We're sorry for everything that happened to you, Kana! But please stay alive! Promise me you'll finish what we started! We love you!!!!"

_Finish…what they started…_Kana now knew what she had to do. "I have…I have to…finish what they tried to do! Whatever this "Dimensional Scream" experiment is…I have to finish what they meant for me to do with it!"

Grovyle smiled. This was the Kana he knew.

"Grovyle…I asked if you could teach me to be inde--independent a long time ago. And I think I came a long way. But…could you stay with me? Could you help me complete Mama and Papa's last wish for me? Please?"

Grovyle replied, "Of course. You know I will do anything for you…partner."

"Thank you so much…partner!"

They shook hands on it. They would continue on no matter what!

To be continued…


	4. A Vision and the Truth

Chapter 4: A Vision and the Truth

VWA…

A flash suddenly darted in front of Kana's eyes. Just a second ago, she sat down next to a tree and leaned against it. _What was that? _she thought. Another flash. Her head started to hurt and felt like it was spinning. "Uuugh…" _Why am I…so dizzy…?_

Grovyle noticed. "Kana? Are you okay?"

She wasn't. She staggered down to her knees. "Grovyle…what…?" And then, a bright flash of light streaked through the sudden darkness in front of her eyes. When the light cleared, there was an image of a fresh clearing within the forest. The trees were greener than Kana ever remembered them being. The vision then zoomed to the center… to show a mystical, glowing blue gear. With a translucent field of light surrounding it, Kana could feel the power of time emanating from the gear. It was spinning in a hypnotic rhythm…as if it was trying to tell her something. Then the vision instantly stopped, and Kana snapped back to reality.

"Huh??"

Grovyle was already shaking her. "Kana! Kana! What's wrong!?"

Kana was startled, but a second later, she realized what just happened. "Grovyle! I saw a blue gear! And the forest was much greener than it should've been!"

"You saw…a blue gear? How?" A chill went down Grovyle's spine. _So maybe…it's true?_ he thought. _But I can't tell her I saw it too. She's way too upset now_.

Kana explained "I just touched this tree, and suddenly got dizzy…and I saw it." She then noticed the color draining from Grovyle's face. "Are you okay? Do you know something about this, Grovyle!?"

"That blue gear…with a greener forest…I think you got a vision of a Time Gear!"

"Huh?" Kana was confused. "What's a Time Gear?"

"You never heard of the legend of the Time Gears?" Grovyle was incredulous. "Every Pokémon knows about that story!"

"But I don't!" Kana was desperate to know. "Tell me about it, please!"

Grovyle, now sure that this was one of the most important events of his life, cleared his throat and proceeded to tell the story.

A long, long, time ago, longer than anyone can remember…the world was not like this. It was a world of brilliant color, where the rivers flowed, the grass was greener, winds blew…and the sun traveled across the sky every day. It was a land where time flowed unendingly. And the source of this harmonious flow of time was the Temporal Tower, and the six Time Gears spread throughout the land. But one day, without any warning…Temporal Tower collapsed. And time spun out of control.

When that happened Dialga, the ruler of the tower, lost all his reason. All the areas around the Time Gears were suddenly frozen in time. The time-stops spread. Pokémon throughout the land could do nothing to stop it. And eventually, when the weight of the time-stops was too great…the entire planet Portania's rotation ground to a halt.

No winds blew. Spring and summer never came. **And the sun never rose again.** On the other side of the planet, the sun never set again. It remains to this day a charred desert wasteland, always getting hotter. (Even we don't know what all those were now.) And all over the planet, the entire surface began to slowly break apart.

Primal Dialga now rules over us all. He will not tolerate any discussion of how the past could be changed. His law is that the world is what it is, and no one shall desire to change it. We have to do our best to live in this world…even if it doesn't seem to ever fit our natural instincts.

And with that, Grovyle finished the story.

Kana sat staring at Grovyle in abject horror. "Mama and Papa were trying to find out the history of this planet all this time. Why didn't--"

"They couldn't understand us. Remember?" Grovyle reminded her.

"Oh." Kana remembered. "So then what does the Time Gears have anything to do with that story?"

Grovyle stopped. "Uh…" he stammered, his eyes darting around to check if anyone was listening in. "It's…it's kind of forbidden…but I think you need to know. Now, listen closely…" He leaned in close to Kana's ear, and whispered the rest:

One Pokémon discovered six gear-shaped indentations in the remains of Temporal Tower. He said that perhaps if the Time Gears were brought together, the collapse could have been averted. A day later, he was executed by Primal Dialga at the Stockade. Primal Dialga fiercely denied that the gears ever existed.

"So we all believed that was just a myth. But now I think that blue gear you saw was a Time Gear! So maybe they actually existed!" Grovyle concluded. "That experiment your parents worked on--the Dimensional Scream--I think that's just what you experienced. It only works on places with a past. Places where there is a Time Gear!"

Kana began to put it all together. " Mama and Papa wanted to change the past. They were making the Dimensional Scream experiment to change the world! And it was against Primal Dialga's ultimate law to do that. So that's why they got executed!"

"Yes", said Grovyle. "If the past was saved, Dialga would never have lost his reason. Primal Dialga would disappear. He seeks self-preservation, you know."

"ALL RIGHT!!" Kana finally knew how to complete what her parents started. "So all we have to do is find where these Time Gears are, travel to the past, gather them, place them in Temporal Tower, and the world will be saved!"

"But…" Grovyle remembered an important fact. "It's been too long. If we changed the past, I don't think Sceptile and Garchomp would've met. In fact, I don't think they would've even been born. And I don't think your Axiatomic Link alien thingy would've abandoned you and your parents on this planet."

Kana began to get a chill up her spine, too. "Grovyle…are you saying…?"

"Yes. We would've never been born. That means…if we changed history…

**We would disappear too."**

To be continued…


	5. The Ultimate Decision

Chapter 5: The Ultimate Decision

"We…would disappear too?" Kana couldn't believe what she was hearing. "No…that can't be…there must be another way!"

Although Grovyle wanted to somehow soften the truth, there was no way he could. "There IS no other way. I'm sorry." he said, not quite believing it himself.

And with all that, Kana broke down crying again. "NOOOOOO! First Mama and Papa…and now us! Why!? WAAAAAH!!!" Grovyle could only try to comfort her until it was all over in about 5 minutes.

But then Kana realized something. "Hey wait a minute." she said. "How **will **we be able to travel back in time? Mama and Papa's experiment stuff was all destroyed."

"I know a Pokémon named Celebi." explained Grovyle. "She's the Time Travel Pokémon. We should meet with her and ask her to send us to the past. Let's go."

"Wait--no--But I don't want to disappear--!" Kana began to protest, but Grovyle scooped her up and ran out of the forest and across the land at an amazing speed. Actually, he seemed to **drag **her along. He suddenly seemed a lot less dashing and valiant, but then Kana realized, _Hey! Grovyle saved me from being executed at that Stockade place_._ I should be thankful for that._ She still dreaded following Grovyle's plan, though.

A few hours later, they arrived at Deep Dusk Forest. "Celebi!?" Grovyle called. "Are you here? It's me, Treeck--I mean, Grovyle!" And then he warned, "Oh, and watch out, Kana. She's a little…odd."

Just as Kana was beginning to wonder who the heck this Celebi was, a bright light suddenly materialized in front of her. And the light cleared to reveal…a pinkish-purple floating creature with startlingly bright green eyes. The creature then giggled and said, "Who--I mean…**What the heck are you?**"

Grovyle stepped up to the creature. "Celebi, meet my best friend, Kana Amara. And by the way, she's a human." He then turned to Kana and said, "Kana, this is Celebi."

"Um…hi?" Kana tentatively asked. "Can you really can travel though time? And what do you mean, what the heck am I?"

"Well what do you think!? Of course I can! How uncouth! Never judge someone by appearance! " Celebi shouted incredulously. "And speaking of appearances, look at you! Just look at you! You're completely, totally, and in all other ways, an **alien!**"

"No, she's a human." Grovyle quickly corrected.

"Whatever!" huffed Celebi.

Meanwhile, Kana finally got what the word "alien" meant. "I thought Mama and Papa were aliens! Why am I an alien, too?"

Celebi zoomed in right into Kana's face. You're not a Pokémon. In fact, **you--are--not--from--this--planet!" **With every word, Celebi jabbed Kana's face, as if she thought Kana was primitive and needed extra emphasis to get her meaning.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Okay, okay! I'm sorry!" Kana put her hands to her face to soothe the bruises caused by Celebi's jabbing. More tears welled up in her eyes. Then Grovyle shielded Kana and said "Celebi! Enough of this! We're here to ask for your help!"

"Huh?" Yes, she finally noticed him. Celebi rubbed her eyes a few times, not quite believing what she was seeing. "My dear Treecko? Is that you?"

Kana was surprised by the nickname. _"__**My dear**__"____Treecko? What?_

"Uh…yes…that's me…" Grovyle muttered sheepishly, clearly embarrassed that Celebi would still call him by that little boy pet name. 

"Ah! You've evolved. I see now. Nice to see you again. I suppose I'll have to call you 'My dear Grovyle' from now on." (Grovyle barely stifled a groan.) "Sit down, please. Take your time and tell me what I can do for you." She suddenly became very sweet and doting, a stark contrast to her previous mood. With that, Kana began to wonder, _Does she like Grovyle?_ Meanwhile, Grovyle wondered, _Why the heck does she always call me "My dear", anyway?_

"So let me get this straight," Celebi said. "Your alien--" -Grovyle elbowed her- "I mean, human friend just had a vision of a Time Gear. And you want to see if I'm able to open a Passage of Time to the past so that you can gather the Time Gears, place them in Temporal Tower, and save the future. Is that right, my dear Grovyle?"

"That's right." affirmed Grovyle. "We would also like to know the location of the Time Gears."

"Well whaddya know…I can! I know exactly when to send you into the past. And I know where to send you for the Time Gear you described. Treeshroud Forest. **But…"**

"Yes?" Kana and Grovyle asked simultaneously.

"I don't know where the other gears are. You, Kana Amara, have to use this "Dimensional Scream" alien ability of yours to find out where the other five are."

"What?" Kana noted. "But my ability never worked, except for that time! How--"

"It's blatantly obvious, human!!" Celebi almost went to poking Kana's face again. "Your ability only works in places with a Time Gear, and only when Grovyle is with you! All you have to do is travel around Portania (**which is the name of this planet, by the way**) and **keep touching stuff** until you get all five visions!"

Kana sighed in exasperation. "But that's going to take too long--"

"DON'T MENTION TIME LIKE THAT TO ME--!!!"

Grovyle interrupted, "And then what do we do?"

Celebi, becoming sweeter, explained "And then, since you will know the locations of all six Time Gears, I will warp you to the past. And when you land in the past, you can gather up all of them and place them in Temporal Tower before anyone will ever notice that time has temporarily stopped around the Time Gear's former locations--"

"WHOA WHOA WHOA! Hold it!" Grovyle shouted. "Are you saying that time will stop if we **remove **the time gears?"

"Yep." said Celebi. "But that's only temporary. Once they're placed in the Temporal Tower, time around those areas will return to normal."

"And how do you know this for sure?" Grovyle asked.

Celebi closed her eyes for a few seconds. "Mmmmm…." And then opened them. "I just got a vision from the past about what will happen if you hypothetically did such a thing. So yes, I'm sure I'm right."

Now it was Grovyle's turn to sigh in exasperation. "The Pokémon of the past won't be happy about that…Uugh…What a stupid system…"

"My dear Grovyle, cheer up!" said Celebi cheerfully. "I can send you to the past!" And then, even though Kana was scared that Celebi would give her another tirade, she had to ask this next question: "Celebi? You know…if we succeed, all of us will disappear… …right? Are you really…okay with that?"

Surprisingly, Celebi smiled. "Of course I'm okay with that!"

Both Kana's and Grovyle's jaws dropped. Grovyle stammered "You…you are?"

"Every day, I've hated living in this gloomy world! I've always wanted to help change it for the better. My dear Grovyle, **I will give my whole life** to save the world!"

Tears welled up in Kana's eyes. _Even Celebi is willing to give up her life if it means saving the world. Just like Grovyle. But I… _"Why? How come I couldn't say it just like that? I--I betrayed the memory of Mama and Papa! I had to complete their mission for them!" Grovyle explained, "It's a natural instinct to preserve yourself, Kana. But it's also how Primal Dialga feels too. If we want to save the world, we have rise above that feeling. Otherwise, we're just as bad as him. We need to do this for the future lives of all the Pokémon in the past!" Kana mulled over this for a long time while Grovyle and Celebi continued discussing the plans.

Eventually, Kana slowly stood up. "I…I've decided." Grovyle and Celebi looked at her. "I'm going to give my life to save the world too! Mama and Papa are dead. There's nothing left for me in this world. I want to fulfill their last wish and save the future lives of all the Pokémon in the past. If it's the last thing I'll ever do…I want to disappear knowing I've done the goodest thing for everyone in the world! "

"Then it's decided," said Celebi. "My dear Grovyle…and Kana…you will travel across the planet, find the location of the Time Gears, and come back here to me! By that time, I'll have prepared the Passage of Time. **And so**--"

"Just a second" Kana interrupted. Celebi gave her an icy stare, especially since she was interrupted at the best part of her speech. But Kana didn't back down. "Celebi--I'm sorry--You said that my Dimensional Scream only works **when Grovyle is with me**. What did you mean by that?"

Celebi remembered, "Oh yeah. I know the properties of any time-related ability when I see one. Anyway, for some odd safety precaution, this low-level time ability only activates in the presence of a trusted friend." Grovyle was confused. "Safety precaution?"

"It's probably because you aliens--" --Grovyle elbowed her again-- "I mean, humans, are likely to do bad things with it, and it wants to make sure that won't happen by checking to see if there's your best friend nearby. So, yeah. Even though I'd **hate to admit it**…" [her voice was suddenly icy] "…Don't get separated from Grovyle. Ever."

Kana and Grovyle now understood. "Oh. Okay."

"Now where were we? Oh yeah. **And so, **you may go! Good luck! You'll need it. Especially you, Kana!" As Kana and Grovyle turned to leave, Celebi muttered under her breath, "Judging by your scrawniness, your battle power is so low you wouldn't last for 5 seconds against a Magikarp…" Then joyously to Grovyle, "Come back soon, my dear Grovyle!! "

By now, Kana was getting annoyed by Celebi's poor attitude towards her, but she just realized why Celebi was doing so in the first place. Grovyle thought, _Whew. I'm just glad she didn't shout anything worse. _They ran off together towards the forest's exit.

"I'm sorry about Celebi." said Grovyle, full of remorse. "She usually isn't that cold to anyone." But Kana wasn't sad at all. She replied, "That's okay! I think she was just jealous."

"Huh? Jealous of what?" Grovyle's dense skull didn't quite get the underlying message of the whole conversation back there.

"She's just jealous of me being your best friend." Kana winked at Grovyle.

"Oh…I see." Grovyle abashedly turned away, not quite wanting to believe what Kana had implied. He now realized why Celebi always called him "My dear".

They exited the woods, and faced the barren landscape. "We have to hurry." said Grovyle. "The moment we find another Time Gear, Primal Dialga will know our plan and send his followers to execute us. But it's tough times like this when we have to be strong, Kana. We need to be brave."

"I know" said Kana. "But don't worry. Even if I have to disappear…I'm willing to do anything to save the world!"

They took off running. They began their quest to save the planet!

To be continued…


	6. Kana and Grovyle's Resolve

Chapter 6: Kana and Grovyle's Resolve

Over the course of 4 years…

**Part 1: Across the Land**

Kana and Grovyle zoomed across the land, looking for a place that may be feasible for containing a Time Gear in the past. Every time they came across such a place, Kana made sure to touch each and every tree, rock, stream of frozen water, or whatever to see if her Dimensional Scream ability worked, and made sure Grovyle was with her. So far, no luck. Sometimes they needed to rest in whatever cave they found, and they would take turns on sentry duty while the other was sleeping. In this world of perpetual darkness, there was no such thing as knowing when one's bedtime was, so everyone, including Kana and Grovyle, slept whenever they felt like they needed to. Kana needed 8 hours, Grovyle needed only 6. But since there's no such thing as hours, either, it just felt like an excruciatingly long time. At least for the one on sentry duty.

In addition, Kana and Grovyle were passing through unfamiliar territory all the time and ended up having to constantly fight off disgruntled wild Pokémon. They would often be attacked for reasons as trivial as trespassing on someone's territory, accidentally waking up a grumpy Pokémon, or heck, they were sometimes attacked because a Pokémon was feeling too belligerently aggressive that day and needed to vent it on someone. Grovyle explained to Kana that this planet is filled with Pokémon that should be good, but have become bitter and twisted due to the perpetual darkness. Although Kana could never imagine a world **without **darkness, her resolve was nevertheless renewed whenever Grovyle explained facts like that to her.

So whenever they were attacked, it was agreed that Grovyle would do all the fighting, while Kana would try to reason with the aggressors, or failing that (which usually happened most of the time), she would try to find a way to escape. But sometimes, Kana would help Grovyle by kicking and punching the opposition as hard as she could. Although she was dismayed that Celebi wasn't exaggerating about her lack of strength (as her kicks and punches only seemed to do the most minimal of damage), she still resolved to get as strong as possible. She still agreed that Grovyle's Leaf Blades, Digs, and Agility speed boosts were the best way to keep them both alive. And for healing? Oran Berries helped…if they found any. Otherwise their only option was to keep moving to regenerate health and hopefully not get attacked again soon.

After about a year, they arrived at a watery cave when they were attacked, again. But when the wild Pokémon fled, they muttered something about the Time Gear legend. Feeling they were onto something, Grovyle said, "Try it here, Kana. Maybe…"

Nodding, Kana reached out and touched the stalagmite in the middle of the room. **And then it finally came!** She immediately got a dizzy spell--and saw a Time Gear in the middle of the cavern! The cave was more colorful and the water puddles on the ground flowed freely. And then it was over.

"Grovyle! There's a Time Gear here!" She then described the scene.

"I know! I saw the same thing myself!" Grovyle described the same thing.

Both of them just realized what had happened. "HUH??"

"You saw the same thing I did?" asked Kana. She couldn't believe it. "How!? You don't have the Dimensional Scream ability…do you?"

"No. I don't." Grovyle replied. "But you were about to fall over, and I caught you in time. And then…I got the vision too! I also saw the one at the Treeshroud Forest when I tried shaking you, but I didn't want to scare you even more back then."

Neither of them spoke for a long time. And then Kana said, "Whoa…Now that you mention it, that felt really weird! In a good way! Hey, I know! Let's hold hands the next time that happens so that you can see it, too!"

"Um…I think these are claws?" said Grovyle, showing his "claws" to Kana.

"Doesn't matter! 2 down, 4 to go! Let's go find the others!"

"You said it! Primal Dialga probably sensed this--who knows when he'll catch us?"

________________________

Primal Dialga was **not** happy at all. He sensed a Dimensional Scream and was outraged that someone dared to breach the past again, especially since the (very) recent executions should've served as an example for people not to do it again. And then he thought back to the time when he left the Stockade early. There was one more human that Dusknoir was **supposed **to execute. And the human might've also had the ability to breach the past. _She couldn't have…could she…?_ Primal Dialga began to suspect something. He called for Dusknoir, who responded promptly. Now that his loyal subject was standing over his bottomless pit-throne, he was ready to give a new mission.

"GRRRRRROOOOOO…." commanded Primal Dialga. _I sensed another Dimensional Scream! What is the meaning of this?_

"Pardon? With all due respect, Master Dialga, what's a Dimensional Scream?" Dusknoir had never heard of the word before.

"GRRRRRRR…" _That was the breach in time! Another one has occurred!_

Dusknoir was taken aback. "A-another one!? It couldn't be…" He trailed off. He remembered how some evolving Pokémon snatched the little human away.

Primal Dialga really began suspecting something now. _What do you mean, "It couldn't be…"? Dusknoir. What is this?_

Dusknoir quickly decided to change the subject and make an excuse to get away. "It—it's nothing, Master Dialga. I'm shocked that another one has occurred! Let me go investigate it right now! I'll apprehend them like usual! Okay, bye!" He ran away from the suddenly menacing bottomless pit-throne. "Sableye!! We're going **now!"**

"**Wheh-heh-heh!"** The Sableye popped up and ran after Dusknoir, who was for some reason moving faster than usual. Dusknoir's real thought was, _I really really hope Master Dialga doesn't find out about this._

**Part 2: The Stockade**

Kana and Grovyle continued to run across the landscape, hurriedly seeking the locations of the other four Time Gears. Now they had a suspicion that Primal Dialga knew what they were doing, so they really upped the pace. But something bothered Kana.

"Hey, Grovyle. Remember when I saw the Time Gear for the first time?"

Grovyle did remember. "Yes. That was right after your parents were executed, right?" Kana flinched. Grovyle didn't have to put it that way. The pain of the memory was still like a raw wound in her mind. But that didn't detract from her point: "Why didn't Primal Dialga sense us that time? …Or did he?" she added nervously.

Even Grovyle was stumped. "True…Maybe he was so sure of the execution that his senses were dulled by his feeling of triumph. But I'm just guessing."

"Or maybe he did, but his minions are waiting for us." Kana shuddered.

"Maybe. We have to be prepared for anything." They agreed to do this as fast as possible. And get Kana some battle experience.

A few months later, they reached an area known as Dark Crater in the past. It was at the crater of a giant volcano and the temperature was a bit warmer than usual. There were also huge rivers of lava that at first caused Grovyle to flinch, but he then realized that it, too, was frozen in time. Kana, however, seemed enraptured by the lava rivers.

"It's beautiful…" she sighed. Grovyle was utterly appalled. "B-beautiful!? It's deadly **lava**!! Or are you really a fire-type--?"

"I don't think so. But this reminds me of all the campfires Mama and Papa made. I was really good at making them. They were so pretty…"

Grovyle just gulped. He remembered the scary campfires Kana's family made that he almost fell into. Then Kana brought out some fire sticks. "See?" she said. "These were the only things Mama and Papa had that didn't get destroyed. I can try to make another campfire if you want."

"L-let's not," stuttered Grovyle. "If you have such a dangerous affinity, I really think you should be more powerful than me in battle. Maybe not against water types, but…"

"THAT'S A GREAT IDEA, GROVYLE!!" exclaimed Kana. "Now I know how to be as strong as everyone else!" She then began to swing the (unlit) fire sticks fighting off an imaginary enemy. But then she slipped—and was suddenly falling into the lava pit!

"KANA! NO!!" Grovyle reached down to catch her, but she touched the pit first! And then—Kana got dizzy. "Huh??" A streak of light cut across her vision. The Dimensional Scream was activating again!

Kana saw that she was in a pit of cooled lava, but the lava outside was scorchingly orange and bright. "WHOA!!" But then she realized it was just a vision. It sure was even more beautiful than in the future, though. And right in the middle of the pit of cooled lava, directly under her…was a Time Gear!

When the vision ended, Kana realized that Grovyle was pulling her out of the pit. They weren't moving, though. Kana gasped, "A Time Gear is here!" Grovyle said, "I know. I saw it too." He then pulled her out.

"Well…" noted Kana. "…that was sort of an accident wasn't it?"

"Uh…yes…" Grovyle agreed, though he was secretly glad that it was. "Now let's go find the others!"

"All right! 3 down, 3 to go! And when we go to the past, I'll get that Time Gear. You can take the other two." Grovyle was relieved. "Thanks, Kana."

They then ran out of the entrance to the frozen volcano. But as soon as they stepped out—

"Wheh-heh-heh!"

They were overrun by the group of Sableye! Without warning, they were blindfolded, gagged, tied up, stuffed into bags and carried off. _How could they have found us already!?_ thought Grovyle. Kana thought _Oh no! Already? NOT AGAIN!_

When the Sableye reached their destination (it took a surprisingly short time to get there), Kana and Grovyle were dumped out and tied to a vaguely familiar column in total darkness. When the blindfolds were removed…there were bright lights shining in their faces! They had to squint their eyes. A second later, the rest of the lights turned on. And standing right in front of them…was Dusknoir and the Sableye!

"AAAAAAAAH!!" Kana and Grovyle screamed. _We're in the Stockade again!!!_

Dusknoir strode to Kana and said "So it **was **you…that human with the Dimensional Scream. I'm pretty sure you could somehow understand me. And a Grovyle, too. So **you** were the one who helped her escape. You will have to pay the price, too." Grovyle tried to keep his cool, saying, "I hoped we'd never have to meet."

At first, Kana was completely terrified at his scary appearance, his creepy glowing angry red eye, and the fact that he was almost twice her height. But then she remembered where she saw him before. "Hey! I know you! You're the one who killed my parents!"

"Precisely. You do remember. And your name…is Kana, is it not?"

"What!?" Both Kana and Grovyle were stone-shocked. Kana stammered, "H-how…how did you know my name!?"

"Oh, it was quite simple, really." Dusknoir barely stifled a chuckle. "While you were breaching time, we just…**eavesdropped**. Imagine that! Kana and Grovyle! Trying to be the "heroes" of time! And you allowed yourself to be **eavesdropped** on! Ha ha ha! Hoo hoo ha! Hoo hoo hoo hoo ha ha ha…!" Dusknoir was overcome by hysterics.

Meanwhile, he didn't realize that just outside, Primal Dialga was **eavesdropping** on everything in the stadium. Watching Dusknoir laugh like a maniac, he started to get a suspicion that Dusknoir may not be the most competent lackey in his roster after all.

Eventually, Dusknoir finally went down to business. "But enough of that! You, Kana and Grovyle, have been found guilty of breaking Master Dialga's ultimate law!"

Those who seek to alter the course of history…shall be eliminated from history.

Grovyle just repeated it in boredom. Kana, on the other hand, said "What?"

"You are now to be executed. Any last words?"

Grovyle just stared angrily at Dusknoir, trying to find a way out of this. Kana, suddenly realizing that this was what her parents felt like, started crying. "WAAAAH!! Mama! Papa! I'm so sorry!"

"Then we are ready to begin!" said the Sableye, like it was going out of style. "Good. Don't take your eyes off them until the end." Dusknoir also said that line like it was going out of style. But then he realized the possibility for failure, so he added, "And this time, **execute them like you mean it!!"** The Sableye, finally being hit with a different line, responded by sharpening their claws even more. They moved toward the columns.

Then Grovyle whispered to Kana, "Psst. We can't give up here. We have to save the planet! Think of a plan!" Kana replied, "But…how? It's hopeless!" Grovyle now had to convince her after all. "Nothing's hopeless until the very end. Now **think!** What type of attack did the Sableye use on your parents?"

"AAA-huh?" Kana couldn't believe that she was being forced to memorize that ghastly scene again. But as a result, she did realize something. "They used claws! And shadowy balls, I think. But mostly claws. Hey--are you saying…?" She then noticed that they were bound by…rather flimsy ropes. Grovyle got the hint. "As soon as you're even a little free…**we'll attack**."

"Commence…now!" Dusknoir ordered.

And then Kana and Grovyle were finally hit by the barrage of Fury Swipes. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" The attacks felt agonizingly sharp and shredding. It felt to them that they were being slashed in all the places that **weren't **near the ropes! But maybe…just maybe…

Kana was the first to notice. There was a break in the rope! Then Grovyle noticed. "Now, Kana!" Even though she was all slashed-up, she still managed to reply "Go!"

They suddenly lashed out at the Sableye, who were completely taken aback. This never happened before! "What…?" Dusknoir noticed the inconsistency a little too late. Grovyle threw a smoke ball at everyone, grabbed Kana, and carried her out of the stadium with another smoke orb as cover. Actually, at this point, Kana was already almost as fast as Grovyle, but she had to be carried out of there because she was so slashed-up.

Watching from his official imposing cliff, Primal Dialga saw a small vague cloud hop out of the stadium. He actually had no proof that the human knew the Dimensional Scream, but was still outraged to see that someone had actually escaped from the Stockade. So he ran down the cliff to the Stockade to give Dusknoir a piece of his mind.

When the smoke cleared in the Stockade, Dusknoir and the Sableye were shocked that --again-- the columns were empty! "Where did they go!?" Dusknoir seethed. "Find them! FIND THEM!!" The Sableye ran toward the exit as fast as they could, looking for the escapees. Dusknoir's real thought was, _Whew. Good thing Master Dialga didn't see-- __**Uh-oh. **_

For at this moment, here came Primal Dialga striding into the stadium, knocking the Sableye out of the way, with unusually angry eyes. "GGRRRRRRROOOOOOH!!" he screeched. _DUSKNOIR! YOU LET SOMEONE ESCAPE!!_

Dusknoir stammered, "M-master Dialga--I can explain--"

_There is ONE MORE law. The second-most ultimate law is…_

Those who fail to eliminate from history the ones trying to alter the course of history…shall receive capital punishment of the highest degree.

_THIS IS YOUR PUNISHMENT!!! _Primal Dialga's mouth began to glow, and Dusknoir had a fleeting second to realize what it was. Dimensional energy began to warp the room, and the wrath from all time periods, from the big bang to the perpetual future, gathered as power in Dialga's mouth. And then--

GUGYAGUBAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

--he unleashed the Roar of Time!

_No--not the Roar of Time--_thought Dusknoir. All that wrath and energy from millennia ago and millennia that will be pierced Dusknoir and all the Sableye minions. Dusknoir began to think that maybe this was how Kana and Grovyle felt…minus half. Primal Dialga kept the attack going for as long as he could, while at the same time figuring out who to hire next. At any rate…

…Dusknoir and the Sableye won't be doing any chasing anytime soon.

**Part 3: Garchomp and Sceptile**

Grovyle brought Kana to her parents' old cave in search of some bandages. And she needed them. I won't go into too much detail, but let's just say that Kana was a mess.

"Found it!" said Grovyle. "Uh…thanks." Kana pulled out several long strands and began wrapping every major gash. Grovyle then noticed some on himself. "Ugh. Eww…" He wiped it all off. "What is this stuff?"

"Um, blood?" she replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Kana then noticed that Grovyle was scratched-up just as much as she was, but didn't seem to be bleeding. "Wait. Pokémon don't bleed?"

"Uh, **no**." said Grovyle like it was also the most obvious thing in the world. "And even if we do, it's not nearly that much."

Kana groaned. She was starting to hate getting the short end of the stick all the time. "Sometimes, I almost wish I was a Pokémon myself."

They continued onward, but this time, Kana had to ride on Grovyle's back since her legs still hurt too much. After another year, they eventually reached a desert-like place. It was still dark like everywhere else in the world, but was noticeably sandy. And there were cacti everywhere. Suddenly, Grovyle lost his footing. And they fell through the sand!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"

But they landed on the bottom--and found themselves in new cavern! It was once known as Quicksand Cave. They proceeded through the cave, and when they reached the end…they found a gigantic lake!

"Wow!" Kana exclaimed. "There's so much water here! …Now I'm thirsty all of a sudden. Hey, Grovyle. Maybe it's drinkable!"

"Kana--wait--" Grovyle wanted to tell her that this water was frozen in time like everywhere else, and that it requires a certain method to drink it. But it seems that Kana already knew how. Just when Grovyle was trying to hold her back, Kana already reached the lake, started drinking, and--

**She got another dimensional scream!**

"What the--!?" Kana barely had to wonder how it could happen by drinking when the vision came. She ended up coughing on a bit of water. [It showed that in the middle of the lake…was a Time Gear! The walls of the cave were much more of a brown-orange sandy texture, too. But right then…a strange, floating creature appeared. She was almost like Celebi, except she had two really long tails with red gems in the middle of them and a pink elaborate headpiece with two pigtails. She then turned to face Kana and screeched "NO! YOU'LL NEVER TAKE THE TIME GEAR! NEVER!!"]

"EEYAAAH!" Kana was completely taken aback by the fact that someone talked to her through her vision! Even Grovyle was astounded. "That was--"

"Who the heck are you two?"

Just arriving behind them was a huge blue ground-dragon creature with notches in his "fins". He also had a bright red chest and rather intimidating eyes. Kana and Grovyle were still freaking out over the succession of these events and could only say, "AAAAAAAAAAH!!" Grovyle added, "Garchomp!"

The dragon replied, "Yes, my name is Garchomp. I asked who the heck are you!?" He then slashed right at them! Grovyle immediately ducked and dug into the ground. Kana jumped away and started screaming "Calm down! Calm down! What do you want!?"

Then Garchomp suddenly realized that Kana wasn't exactly like any Pokémon he ever seen before. "Wha…?" In that second, Grovyle emerged from the ground to attack Garchomp. In the next instant, Garchomp yelled "STOP! HOLD IT! HOLD IT!"

Grovyle didn't understand. "What's wrong?"

Garchomp had a suspicion that he wanted to confirm. "You, Grovyle…You just used Dig, didn't you?" Grovyle was suddenly confused. "Uh, yes…Why?" Garchomp said, "Most Grovyle like you can't ever do that. How did you learn it?"

Suddenly, Grovyle began to realize. "My dad was a Garchomp just like--"

**"What is going on down here!?"**

A forest-like bigger version of Grovyle hopped down from the ceiling. She was disturbed by all the ruckus and wanted to check out what was happening.

Just by hearing her voice, Grovyle instantly knew. "Mom?" Then he turned to Garchomp. "Dad??"

Garchomp and the forest Pokémon's jaws dropped. "Our…son…?" Kana was even more shocked. "This is your mama and papa, Grovyle?" And then, "AAAAAAH! An ALIEN!!" The two huge Pokémon fainted from shock. Kana fainted from the fact that she found Grovyle's parents, and the fact that they called her an alien. Grovyle fainted from everything that was happening. So, yeah. Everyone fainted.

"I'm so sorry I freaked out like that!" said Kana. "So you're Mrs. Sceptile. And you're Mr. Garchomp. And you are Grovyle's mama and papa. Nice to meet you!"

When everyone woke up, they were finally on friendly terms. They were still sitting next to the lake, but in a circle. "Nice to meet you, too!" said Sceptile. "And you are…?"

"My name is Kana Amara, but you can call me Kana! I'm traveling with Grovyle!"

"Nice to meet you too, Kana." said Garchomp. "Sorry I yelled at you. What exactly are you, anyway?"

Grovyle said "She's a human. And she's my best friend."

"HUH?" Garchomp and Sceptile didn't quite understand what that meant. So Kana and Grovyle had to explain **everything** that happened, from the time they befriended each other, to the Dimensional Scream, to their current quest. Good thing there was the lake nearby just in case they got thirsty. When they were finally done, Garchomp and Sceptile finally understood.

"That was Mesprit, the being of emotion." Garchomp explained when Kana described the recent vision. "Did you know there are two other lakes like these?" Sceptile asked. "No way, really?" Kana and Grovyle had no idea. "Well," she began to explain, "there are two other Pokémon. Uxie, the being of knowledge, and Azelf, the being of willpower. They used to live at these other lakes a long time ago. And--judging by your vision--I think they were protecting the Time Gears. But then time spun out of control, which even the Time Gears couldn't stop. And then they abandoned the lakes."

"Oh…" Kana's face fell. "That's so sad!"

"We know where these lakes are." Garchomp said. "You said there were only two Time Gears left to find, right? Then chances are, Time Gears are there, too! We go to each of them from time to time. Here's a map that will lead you there!" Sceptile added, "The lakes we know are Crystal Cave and Steam Cave. They're both a very long way from here." She pulled out the map and showed them the precise location. Before now, Kana and Grovyle had no map to go by, so this was very fortunate for them.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Garchomp! And Mrs. Sceptile!" said Kana.

"No, no! Thank **you! **I'm sick and tired of living in this gloomy world!" said Sceptile. "Good luck!" said Garchomp. "You really **are** the Heroes of Time to us!"

Kana, and Grovyle said goodbye to Garchomp and Sceptile, left the Quicksand Cave, and began to journey across the landscape again. Grovyle remarked, "I never thought I'd see my own parents again. I also never thought they'd know so much--or would help us like this." Kana smiled. "I'm glad I got to meet them, too!" _Things are finally turning around! 4 down, 2 to go! _

________________________

Even though they now knew where the last two possible locations for the Time Gears would be, Kana & Grovyle's journey still took a long time. They were headed to Crystal Cave first. Along the way, whenever they found a place to rest, Kana practiced fighting using the lit fire sticks, lit by the campfires she also helped make. Grovyle naturally kept his distance during these sessions. But there was no doubt that he was getting proud of Kana's progress.

A few "months" later, they finally made it. They fought their way through the cave, solved the puzzle that required them to change all three major crystals' colors to blue, and reached the lake at the end. And in fact, Kana didn't even have to touch the water. She ended up accidentally brushing by a crystal when it activated. And Grovyle managed to share the vision just in time.

[It showed a Time Gear in the water. This time, a Pokémon similar to Mesprit flew by. The only difference was that he had a blue face that was shaped like a triangle instead. And then suddenly, a storm of crystals began to cover the entire lake, sealing it shut!]

"Wha…what was that?" Kana asked.

Grovyle was stumped. "I don't know…but that might mean if we travel to the past, we'd better grab this gear before it gets sealed away like that."

**Part 4: The Drought Stone**

Meanwhile, Dusknoir finally recovered from his injuries from when Primal Dialga punished him. And he was steaming mad. Problem was, the only one even more steaming mad than him was Primal Dialga himself. _That's the fifth time the same--human--has breached the past! AND THEY WERE ALL TIME GEAR-RELATED!! There's only one spot left! If that girl finds that spot…_ Primal Dialga then called a very nervous-looking Dusknoir up to his bottomless pit-throne. Apparently, he couldn't find any other lackey in his roster suitable enough to take Dusknoir's place, so he was stuck with him again.

"GRRRRRROOOOO…" he commanded. _Dusknoir. Find this offender and get rid of her for good this time! I MEAN IT!_

"I understand, Master Dialga." said Dusknoir. And he really did. He was also determined to take out his frustration on that Kana person who was giving him and getting him into so much trouble.

________________________

12-year-old Kana and her friend Grovyle reached the area where Steam Cave was supposed to be. Only problem was, it was all fogged up. They couldn't see anything! They wandered and wandered and wandered and wandered and wandered--Okay, you get the idea. The point is, they wandered around and kept getting lost for months. In fact, they were so lost, Dusknoir and his minions would've never found them. Most of the time, their thoughts were, _AAAARGH! This may be where the last Time Gear is! WHY does it has to be the hardest to find? WHY!?_ And they would very likely be there for many years later if Kana hadn't been enraptured by a brightly glowing red triangular gem.

"Oooooo…pretty." she said, staring into the gem's deep, warm, red glow.

Grovyle was just confused. "Kana, I have no idea why you'd think that anything red and hot would be pretty. But I'm a Grass type. Maybe that's just me."

"I'm **keeping it!**" Kana announced, picking up the gem.

"Bfft--WHAT!?" Grovyle was flabbergasted. Liking a strange object was weird enough, but keeping it…? "It…it might be dangerous!"

"I don't think it's dangerous…" mumbled Kana, still holding the gem up to her face and staring into it. "For some reason, I think it's trying to tell me something…"

_Okay…now this is getting disturbing… _thought Grovyle. But his thoughts were cut off when Kana added, "Besides, we've been lost for an insanely long time. I think **something **around here should give a clue." Grovyle had his doubts, but anything clue-related was better than nothing.

They continued to wander around until they came across the same Groudon statue they passed for the third time that week(?). But this time, Kana noticed something inside the Groudon's chest. It was a triangular hole! And suddenly, the gem seemed to glow much brighter and warmer than usual! "Grovyle…" said Kana, "I think I know what we're supposed to do."

She placed the gem inside the hole. It fit perfectly! And then, earthquakes seemed to rock the place, causing Kana and Grovyle to lose their footing. And after that…to Grovyle's shock and Kana's delight, the fog slowly lifted! Now on the ground, Grovyle finally noticed the plaque on the base of the statue:

Reignite the life that burned within Groudon.

Then the sky shall blaze with the sun's heat…

The path to treasure shall be revealed.

(That means: Please unite it with the Drought Stone.)

"So that was the Drought Stone…" realized Grovyle. "I really wish we'd found this out a long time ago. But what is the sun…? And treasure…is a Time Gear here…?"

"I see!" realized Kana. "We were supposed to place the Drought Stone in Groudon's heart. That lifts the fog!"

Grovyle was amazed that Kana's little personality quirk actually helped them clear the fog, and he decided to respond with a verbal personality quirk of his own. "Very well done! Good job, partner!" he congratulated.

"Partner?" For a moment, Kana had no idea why Grovyle would call her that.

Grovyle explained, "Of course. We're partners, right?"

Kana smiled, "Right!" She then remembered the promise they made after the first Time Gear they found. And then, as they looked around the cleared fog, they found…an upside down mountain with frozen water down its side!

"WHOOOAAA….." they exclaimed.

"The lake must be up there! Let's go, partner!" announced Kana. As they ran toward the inverted mountain, they both chuckled. _"Partner"? It's been so long since we last used that word!_ Kana thought. But Grovyle had a different reason. _Now, thanks to Kana…I'm starting to not be afraid of fire anymore. Whenever she's around…any type of fire suddenly seems less frightening. Thank you, Kana._

They fought through the mountain until they reached the top. Along the way, they saw some lava pits, but Grovyle didn't seem to mind anymore (for the reason above). And right at the top was a lake, just like Kana had predicted. Kana reached down to touch the water with Grovyle right next to her--and the Dimensional Scream activated for what hopefully should be the last time it would be necessary.

[There was a beautiful looking Time Gear in the middle of the lake.] _Why…_she thought. _Why is it making my heart race? It's so beautiful…but maybe it's also because it's the last one. Just like the Drought Stone. Wait! Maybe there's something special about this Time Gear that's different from all the others! Maybe it's the one most important to me! _[Then the lake water erupted into a spectacular colorful geyser, with bright Bug-type glowing Pokemon surrounding it. In front of Kana, there was a Pokemon like Mesprit and Azelf, but with a yellow turban on his head. "My name is Uxie." he said. Then a voice behind Kana said, "Uxie! Has a human ever come through here? Were you the one responsible for Kana's memory loss?"]

Kana and Grovyle staggered back, completely taken by surprise by the dialogue in the vision. Kana? Losing her memory? "That was in the past…was it?" asked Kana. "Yes…" stammered Grovyle. "But that had to be hundreds of years ago, before the planet's paralysis. How could you exist back then…?" _What…the heck…was __**that **__about?_

**Part 5: Dusknoir and Primal Dialga's Revenge**

**"Wheh-heh-heh!"**

Without warning, a huge swarm of Sableye swarmed Kana and Grovyle, tied them up, and stuffed them into bags like before. How unfair! Kana and Grovyle were so befuddled by the confusing questions from the vision they never noticed anyone sneaking up on them! Luckily, Kana and Grovyle were quick enough to slash the bags open and fight off most of the Sableye. But right when they thought they won, something (a.k.a. Dusknoir) punched them in the back of their heads (right on the pressure points) and they fainted instantly.

They woke up to a ridiculously blinding light. Something seemed familiar about this…and then the rest of the lights turned on to reveal the Sableye, Dusknoir(!) and a very familiar location. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" Kana and Grovyle screamed. They were in the Stockade **again!** "How…?" Grovyle asked.

"Oh, it's quite simple." repeated Dusknoir. "Right when the fog cleared, we saw you several miles away. Imagine that! You two cleared the fog **so you could seal your fates! **Ha ha ha! Hoo hoo ha! Hoo hoo hoo hoo--*cough* Wait." He then realized that excessive laughing was what led to his failure before. "Anyway, Master Dialga gave me this one chance to redeem myself. But this is it!" He turned to Kana and pointing at her, accused, "And **you**, Kana, have always been the guiltiest of trying to alter history! **You **have gotten me subjected to Master Dialga's Roar of Time! **You **should've been executed right after your parents! And that is why I will execute you **myself**!" And then he charged!

"KANA!!" Grovyle yelled in anguish.

"NOOOOOO!!" Kana had nightmares of Dusknoir after her like this. She always cringed at the thought of seeing him again. But… _He has no right to end my life like this! _she thought. _Not when I'm this close to completing my mission!_

In the nick of time, she turned her head so that Dusknoir's Shadow Punch hit the ropes instead of her head. The ropes broke! Now that she was free, she jumped out of the way, right in front of Grovyle, and readied herself to fight.

"What--!?" exclaimed Dusknoir. "That wasn't exactly a fair fight." explained Grovyle. What he really thought was, _Nice one, Kana! I thought you were done for!_

"Humph. This **wasn't **supposed to be a fair fight. But since this is the case…" Dusknoir motioned for the Sableye to stay out of the way for the moment. He then strode to one end of the stadium. "You're a fool, Kana. But that'll make my victory that much sweeter!"

Kana faced up to him, anger finally taking the place of fear. She was sick and tired of crying and being scared all the time. It was time for her to stand up for herself. Remembering the frightening events years ago, she became more energized for battle than she had ever been in her whole life.

A Sableye stood as the "referee". He announced "Then let the 'fair fight' begin!"

"YOU KILLED MY PARENTS, DUSKNOIR!!" Kana screamed.

"YOU GOT ME SUBJECTED TO MASTER DIALGA'S ROAR OF TIME, KANA!!" Dusknoir retorted. But even Grovyle and the Sableye had to stifle a chuckle at the ridiculousness of the statement compared to Kana's.

Kana and Dusknoir charged at each other. The battle began!

Dusknoir threw a Shadow Punch first. Kana dodged it and kicked him--but the kick went right through his body! She tried again and again (dodging Dusknoir's attacks) but to no avail. Grovyle shouted, "Kana! Dusknoir is a Ghost-type! Normal-type attacks won't do any good against him!" Kana brought out the fire sticks and said "Right! I knew that!" And she really did. Grovyle taught her all about the Pokémon types during their adventure, but she happened to forget just now because she was so angry. But during this time, Dusknoir's Shadow Sneak tripped Kana and he momentarily got the upper hand.

"Now, burn!" he yelled, shoving a Will-o-wisp attack right at Kana. Kana's fast reflexes allowed her to hold the fire sticks to "block" the attack. Instead, the Will-o-wisp **lit** the fire sticks! Kana jumped up and twirled them around. "Now we're even! Why don't YOU burn?" Although Dusknoir had no idea how his attack lit those "primitive weapons", he wasn't about to dwell on it.

This time, whenever Kana was able to hit Dusknoir with the lit end of any of the fire sticks, it actually **did damage!** (Dusknoir said "OW!") In fact, since she was so adept with them by now, and there were a total of 4 flames, she was able to twirl them around so that two flames hit Dusknoir at once, quickly followed by another two. And for a moment, it seemed as though she would win.

But…Dusknoir knew something Kana didn't. He had an insanely high Special Defense. All of Kana's attacks were doing the most minimal damage to him, and he was only faking "OW!"s to fool her. Finally, he pretended to collapse on the ground. Right as she leapt up to deal the "finishing blow"…he threw a charged-up Shadow Ball right at her! And it hit her square on! "AAAAAAAAH!" she screamed.

"KANA! NOOOOOOOO!!" By this time, Grovyle had figured out how to cut the ropes with his Leaf Blade without anyone noticing since they were all watching the battle. He ran towards Kana and caught her before she hit the ground. "Oh no, oh no, oh no…"

"Grovyle…" Kana whispered, "Don't worry. I'm okay…" She did **not **sound okay. In fact, she sounded like she was about to faint.

"H-hang on," Grovyle desperately said. "I'll figure some way out…"

Dusknoir strode up and laughed, "Ha ha ha! Hoo hoo ha!" Kana and Grovyle were starting to get annoyed by that laugh. Dusknoir continued, "Did you really think you could beat ME? Did you fail to notice the vast difference in strength between us?" He then explained all the technical parts of the battle, including his insanely high Special Defense. "Kana, you really were a fool. Oh well. I guess that's what Master Dialga meant when he said you were an inferior being. Hoo hoo ha ha ha--"

BWOOOMPH! A bright light erupted right in front of Dusknoir, blinding him temporarily. Apparently he was so busy with his speech he never noticed Grovyle unleash a Luminous Orb. When the light cleared, Dusknoir was surprised that Kana and Grovyle were gone! Again! "Where did they go!?" the Sableye wondered. "They couldn't have gone far!" said Dusknoir. "Find them! FIND THEM!!" They all exited the stadium to look around the Stockade. Dusknoir's real thought was, _Oh man, if Master Dialga finds out…_

A few seconds later, Grovyle and Kana emerged from the ground. Apparently, Grovyle used Dig to hide himself and Kana during the Luminous Orb flash. "Bleeach…I got dirt in my mouth." sputtered Kana. She was so weak, she wasn't ready for that move. "But thanks anyway, Grovyle. Dusknoir was right. He was WAY more powerful than me. Now let's go find Celebi."

"Yeah, let's go. I'm just glad you're okay…" said Grovyle. He then carried her out of the stadium and the Stockade without anyone noticing.

At least, without **almost **anyone noticing.

Primal Dialga was furious beyond belief. That was the third time that incompetent lackey Dusknoir let the same person escape from the Stockade. And even worse, that human named Kana managed to breach all six Time Gear locations. She and that Grovyle would now attempt to travel to the past itself. **And change history!** Primal Dialga jumped off his official cliff and ran down there to finish them off himself. Punishing Dusknoir would have to come at a later time.

Grovyle had been carrying Kana and running for a long time. Luckily, Kana was starting to get better. They rested for a bit. Grovyle said, "We're almost there, Kana. Soon, we'll be able to meet Celebi again."

Kana wondered, "I wonder if she's still mad at me. But it has been a long time…"

Grovyle assured her, "You've gotten much taller and stronger (and heavier!) since the last time you've met. I don't think she would be angry at you anymore."

Just then… "GRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOO" _So. I've finally found you._

"Uh-oh. I've heard that voice somewhere…" Kana's heart began to race again. Grovyle sat up, alert, prepared for anything.

GRRROOOOOOOOOOOH!! _Kana and Grovyle! This is the end of you!_ Primal Dialga jumped out of nowhere and landed right in front of them.

"Oh no…not you…!" gasped Kana. She remembered that he was the one who ordered Dusknoir to order the Sableye to execute her parents.

"That's…Primal…Dialga…" stammered Grovyle.

Their hearts sank, and the color drained from their faces. With Primal Dialga's glowing orange bands, his four steel-toed legs, his glowing red eyes and jewel in his chest, and the fact that he was over 3 times their height, he was blocking any way to escape. Right when they were about to start their new mission…was when the very ruler of the planet came to stop them!

GRRRRROOOOOOOOOO…._Time and time again you've managed to escape from the Stockade…Time and time again you've broken my ultimate law…And now, you two are going to the past to be the death of me!_ During this tirade, Kana and Grovyle slowly stepped away, even though there was nowhere to run. Kana's brain was paralyzed. She couldn't think of anything to say to reason with him._ You, Kana and Grovyle, will pay with your lives!! _

He then stomped all 1508 lbs. right at them. Grovyle's leaves and Kana's shirt (and hair) were pounded into the ground under Dialga's steely foot. They could not escape!

"Grovyle" yelled Kana in desperation. "Why aren't we fighting him!?"

"You've got to be crazy!" yelled Grovyle. "Didn't you learn anything when fighting Dusknoir!? This is his **boss!** This is the ruler of the planet for a reason! You can't cross fire sticks with him and win!"

"Then…can you do something? Can anyone do something?"

"NO! No Pokémon has **ever** been able to fight him and win…or walk away alive!"

_That's right. _growled Primal Dialga. _Now I'll be rid of you for all time!_ He gathered temporal energy in his mouth. He was right. If Dusknoir was put out of commission for several months from the Roar of Time, and they weren't even close to beating him, and if Kana was this damaged, how could they possibly survive this one? During the time he was charging up…

"Thank you for everything you've done for me, Grovyle." said Kana. "And thank you for being the best friend I ever had. I'm sorry it has to end this way!"

"And thank you for teaching me to not be afraid of fire anymore." said Grovyle. "Thank you for being my best friend all this time. I wouldn't have the end any other way. At least we tried to save the world, right?"

Kana smiled. "Right…"

They both resigned to their fates. "Goodbye…"

And then Primal Dialga unleashed the Roar of Time right at them!

GUGYAGUBAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

All that wrath and energy from millennia ago and millennia that will be pierced Kana and Grovyle. It was beyond anything they ever endured. And right when they thought they were truly done for--

"My dear Grovyle!!!"

A bright light appeared around them. Thinking this was the end, they then fainted.

When the attack was over, Kana and Grovyle weren't moving anymore. Satisfied, Primal Dialga slowly stepped off of them and strode back to his bottomless pit-throne. He was convinced that he would never have to fear Kana and Grovyle again. Now he relished the opportunity to punish Dusknoir anyway. That's how oppressive his laws are.

"My dear Grovyle!! Kana Amara! Wake up! Please!"

Kana and Grovyle slowly awakened. "Where…am I…?"

"You're awake! You're awake! YAAAY! I was so worried!"

Kana and Grovyle opened their eyes and sat up. "Celebi!!" they yelled simultaneously.

"It's been so long since I've last seen you, my dear Grovyle!!" she said.

Then Kana looked around and asked "Huh? I thought we were being executed by Master--I mean, **Primal** Dialga." She quickly covered her mouth with her hands and thought, _Ugh! Now Dusknoir's making __**me **__say it!_

"Yeah, me too." said Grovyle, barely stifling a chuckle.

Celebi giggled like crazy. "Well…you see…I felt Primal Dialga's Roar of Time tearing you two apart, and I **had **to Teleport in to save you. Then I brought you here safely. Here in Deep Dusk Forest."

Kana was still confused. "Thank you. But…what's so funny? We almost died!"

"Well--you see--" Celebi could barely hold back a wave of laughter "I left dead **decoys **of you two! And Primal Dialga **fell for it! **HeeheeheeheeAHAHAHAHA!!!" She let loose the tsunami of laughter. "He won't be looking for **us **anytime soon!"

"I see!" said Grovyle, smiling. "You left Substitutes of us!" And because Celebi's enthusiasm was so contagious, Kana and Grovyle also ended up laughing like crazy.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" In fact, this was the first time in a long time they've ever had so much fun like this.

Eventually, they got down to business. "Oh, and by the way…" added Celebi, her face suddenly becoming much sadder. "I feel terrible about the way I treated you, Kana. I guess I was just really jealous of you being best friends with my dear Grovyle. I can see now that you really deserve to be with each other. And you've gotten taller and stronger since I've last seen you!"

"I know!" said Kana, smiling. "I forgive you! Besides…"

"We've already found the locations of all six Time Gears!" announced Grovyle.

"Six down, zero to go!" said Kana. She smiled even more. So much had happened, it was a long time since she said something like that.

"Now let's take the Passage of Time!" said Celebi, leading the way.

"YAAAAAY!!!" they all yelled.

And now they were finally going to the past to save the planet!

To be continued…


	7. The Time Travel Accident

Chapter 7: The Time-Travel "Accident"

Kana and Grovyle followed Celebi through the Deep Dusk Forest, anxiously anticipating the Passage of Time they will soon have to travel through. _Okay! This is it! This is it! We're finally going to the past! _During the trip, they had time to discuss things.

"When we arrive in the past, we're supposed to gather all the Time Gears, then put them in Temporal Tower before it collapses. But if we succeed, we'll disappear, right?" Kana asked.

Celebi answered "That's right! But don't worry about me. Like I said, I'm sick and tired of living in this dreary world. I'm willing to give my whole life to save it!"

"Kana. Have you gotten everything you needed?" asked Grovyle.

Kana looked over everything she brought along. "Yep. I've got my fire sticks, Papa's journals, some extra bandages, and whatever supplies I could find from the old cave." All of those supplies were in a bag she was carrying.

"And don't worry" Grovyle added. "My mom and dad are okay with us changing the future. Did you remember?"

"Oh yeah…" Kana remembered that Garchomp and Sceptile agreed with Celebi; that they would be willing to give their lives up for a better future. Grovyle once said that the Pokémon of this world should be good, but they became twisted and bad because of the darkness. No wonder. "By the way, what's the Passage of Time?"

Celebi answered "Well, for short trips like 40 years, I can time-travel all by myself. But for longer ones that span many generations, I use the Passage of Time. This trip will take you exactly 500 years in the past, right before the collapse of the Temporal Tower."

Grovyle had accepted this from the start. He was glad that he had Kana, his best friend, helping him out to the very end. But something bothered him. "Celebi? Was it really true that Pokémon back then believed that if a Time Gear was taken, time would grind to a halt in that area?"

Celebi replied, "Of course. They weren't that primitive. But if you're quick enough to put it in Temporal Tower, it'll all go back to normal."

"But we still don't know where Temporal Tower is. How--?"

"That's right!" Celebi remembered. "No one knew where it was because it was in the Hidden Land. It was hidden in a gap in time! But--get this--did you know that Primal Dialga's bottomless pit-throne **is** the remains of the tower?"

"And where might that be…?" asked Grovyle.

"It's **very** close to where the Stockade is! If you just go to where the Stockade would be in the past, I'm sure you'll find it, my dear Grovyle!"

"Uugh…" Grovyle and Kana didn't relish the possibility of being wanted outlaws. On the other hand, they were wanted outlaws all their lives thanks to Primal Dialga.

"Wait. You do know Primal Dialga's ultimate law, right Celebi?" asked Grovyle. "The moment he senses you sending us to the past, he'll come after you."

"Pshah!" Celebi snorted. "Let him and Dusknoir and his lackeys come. I don't care. After all…**I can't be caught!********"** She then Teleported around to prove her point.

"Okay…whatever you say, Celebi." Grovyle didn't argue. He knew that Celebi was an all-powerful legendary Pokemon who could Teleport herself away at a moment's notice. Sure, she wasn't as strong as Primal Dialga, but her mobility more that makes up for any possible disadvantage.

Celebi sighed dreamily. She wanted this time with Grovyle to last as long as possible.

Eventually, they reached it. The Passage of Time. It was a light-blue glowing door with several rings surrounding the entrance. Kana and Grovyle stood before the door, preparing themselves to travel through time. Celebi hovered right behind them.

"You ready, Kana?" Grovyle asked.

"I'm ready." Kana replied. "I've got nothing to go back to. And nothing to lose. I want to save the future lives of the Pokémon in the past…and save the planet. That was also Mama and Papa's last wish, and I will fulfill it, even if we have to disappear. But I'll never forget everything you've done for me, Grovyle. Thank you so much!" _Why…do I feel like we're saying goodbye for the last time?_

"I've got nothing to lose either. Thank you so much for being my friend all this time, Kana. Thanks to you…you saved me from being twisted by the darkness of this world. I'll always help you no matter where you go." said Grovyle. _I…I at least want her to know that…just in case we __**are**__ saying goodbye for the last time._ "Celebi? We're ready."

"My dear Grovyle…and Kana Amara…do your best! Change history! And prevent the planet's paralysis, please! All the hopes of this planet are riding on you! You two are truly …**The Heroes of Time!**" She gave them a little push…and they jumped right into the Passage of Time!

Kana and Grovyle fell through the years--well, centuries--of history. In the background, they saw outer space, but with light blue instead of a black void. There were yellow panels showing the scenes of history. But then--it suddenly turned dark! And why did they suddenly slow down?

"Muahahahahaha…." laughed a creepy voice. Kana and Grovyle suddenly became very nervous. _Where's that voice coming from!?_

"So! Kana Amara and Grovyle! You two DARE to change history and destroy MY perfect world!?"

Kana was getting really scared. "Who…who are you? Show yourself!"

And then, a black shadowy wispy creature appeared! "My name is Darkrai!"

"Why are you stopping us!?" shouted Grovyle.

"Oh?" said Darkrai, slightly amused. "Had it not occurred to you **why **Temporal Tower collapsed in the first place? Didn't it seem a bit strange that one unexplained event caused the utter ruin of the planet?"

Kana and Grovyle looked at each other with dread. "Uh…yes?"

Darkrai continued, "I'll explain. **I **was the one that sabotaged Temporal Tower! **I **was the one who wanted this world of darkness to exist in the first place! And **I**…am the true ruler of this planet! Primal Dialga is second-in-command…to **me**! I sensed you two were going to the past to undo all my hard work! **And now I've come to stop you!"**

He then charged up a ball of darkness. Kana and Grovyle thought _NO! Why here? Why now, when we've almost made it!? So this is the one who caused the paralysis of the planet in the first place?_ And then Darkrai threw the darkness attack at Grovyle!

"NOOOOO!" Kana didn't want her best friend to be hurt like this. She already did her part with the Dimensional Scream. Now he had to collect the Time Gears and save the world. She had to make sure he was okay. So she jumped right in front of Grovyle and took the attack!

"KANA!!" Grovyle couldn't believe she would do such a thing. "Huh??" Even Darkrai was confused.

A light began to glow around Kana from the impact of the attack, and it started to become entangled with the many dimensions they were currently traveling through. But Darkrai paid no heed. He charged up another attack and aimed it at Grovyle again! But Grovyle was ready. "YOU'LL PAY!!!"

He swung a Leaf Blade at the dark energy and rebounded it right back at Darkrai! Darkrai, not expecting this, was hit square on. And then the same thing that was happening to Kana was happening to Darkrai. "NOOOO!" he yelled. "My memory…!"

Grovyle was puzzled. _His memory?…Uh-oh. Kana!_ Darkrai was flung away, his memories were being erased, and he was never seen again. Grovyle reached Kana in time for the pace of time-travel to resume. _Maybe…she still remembers me…_

Kana suddenly became really scared. She felt all her memories slipping away! "Grovyle…what…?"

And then there was a turbulent storm of wind and rain! They had to hold on!

"Whoa! Wh-wh-whoa!" Kana was taken by surprise from the storm.

"Are…are you okay?" yelled Grovyle. He wanted to see how much Kana still remembered.

"I can't…hold on…" Kana was slipping. The storm was getting stronger.

"No! Don't let go! Just a little longer…Come on! Hang on!" Grovyle couldn't bear to lose her now. Not when they were almost there!

"N-n-no! I can't…hang on…"

And then suddenly, a flash of lightning wrenched them apart!

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"

A few seconds later, Grovyle felt the time-travel stop. A forest appeared around him. It was much greener than any forest he remembered, and lots of rain and wind was inundating it. "EYAH!" he yelled. But then he realized that this was the Treeshroud Forest in the past. Trying to survive the storm, he began looking for the Time Gear. He realized that Kana's bag was next to him, and he grabbed it, planning to give it back when they met. _Where is Kana!? _he thought. _I hope she's all right. Kana…what happened to you? _

Kana was **not **all right. Before she fainted, she landed in the ocean and was tossed around for a long time. When she finally woke up, she found herself on a beach in daylight. _Wh…where am I? No…I can't…_ And then she fainted again.

"HEY!! Are you okay!? Wake up! Please!"

Kana slowly opened her eyes to the weirdest sight. It was a penguin-like creature.

"Ugh…" she groaned. "Wh…where am I?"

"You're awake!" squeaked the creature. "Thank goodness. I was so worried! You weren't moving at all. Do you remember how you ended up zonked out here?"

Kana was taken aback. "Huh??" _I…I was zonked out? What happened…?_

"Well, I'm Piplup. Nice to meet you!"

"Uh…yeah." said Kana. "Nice to meet you too."

"And who are you?" asked Piplup. "I've never seen you around before."

Kana decided to stick with the routine she always used for introducing herself to other Pokémon. "My name is Kana. I'm a **human**, okay? Not an--"

"What!? You're a human!?" Piplup was utterly shocked. "You look like a totally normal Torchic to me!"

"Huh?" Kana was completely confused. "A Torchic?" She looked at herself…and found she was covered with orange fluffy feathers, an three-feathered yellow head comb, short legs with bandages…and a beak for a mouth. "WHA-!?" She then ran to a small puddle by the ocean, looked at her reflection…and found herself looking like the weirdest chick-like creature she had ever seen! "AAAAAAAAAAHH!! I'm a **what!?** H-h-how did this happen!? HOW!?"

Piplup had no idea why she was acting this way. "You're a Torchic. Are you okay? Don't you remember what happened before you were zonked out?"

Kana closed her eyes and tried to think back…and came up with a blank! _Oh no! I…__**I can't remember anything!!!**_

This is the end of the back story of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Darkness. But if you want to see what happens next, read on!

Suddenly, two dastardly ridiculous Pokémon named Koffing and Zubat slammed themselves into Piplup and stole his special treasure!

"Whoa-ho-ho! Not gonna make a move to get that back, huh?" said Koffing.

"See you around, you big chicken. Heh-heh-heh." taunted Zubat.

They ran away to the nearby Beach Cave as fast as they could.

"Oh no!" Piplup had tears in his eyes. "Th-that was my personal treasure! I have to get it back! Please, Kana! Can you help me?"

Kana had no idea what was going on, but she did notice the dastardliness of Koffing and Zubat's mean actions. She was getting fired up. "Yeah! Let's get 'em!"

They ran through the Beach Cave, and Kana learned that she could use fire attacks. When they reached the end, they confronted Koffing and Zubat, who were holding Piplup's precious stone. "G--give that back!" he timidly yelled. "It's my personal treasure!"

"Oh? It's that precious? Well then, all the more reason to keep it!" said Koffing. He and Zubat laughed like crazy.

Kana was getting furious now. **"We'll fight you for it!" **she seethed. "Wha--we will?" asked Piplup. They did.

FWOOOOSH! A single "Ember" from Kana turned into a Flamethrower! She blew the huge wave of fire all over Koffing and Zubat. And they fainted instantly.

"My treasure!" shouted Piplup. He ran to pick it up and hugged it. For some reason, seeing his joy on getting back the treasure brought a tear to Kana's eye. They then exited the cavern and went back on the beach.

"This is my personal treasure. It's called a Relic Fragment." explained Piplup, resting the precious rock on the sand for Kana to see. She noticed the weird pattern all over it. "It's…wow." she breathed.

"You see, I've been trying to make an Exploration Team for a long time now. But I'm too much of a coward. I thought holding on to my personal treasure would help me, but…" he trailed off.

"An Exploration Team?" asked Kana.

"Yeah. I've wanted to join one so that I can one day solve the mystery of the Relic Fragment. That's my dream. I'm sure I would faint from sheer happiness if I did!" As Piplup spoke, a dreamy look crept into his face. And Kana felt all warm and fuzzy inside. "I think that's an awesome dream." she said.

"Hey! I know!" Piplup suddenly had an idea. "Kana? Would you form an Exploration Team with me? I know we just met…and maybe I don't know you very well…but I think we would make a great Exploration Team together. Please?"

_I don't know where I am or how I got here…and I can't remember if I ever had a life before. But Piplup…He seems so nice. _"Okay!" said Kana.

"Thank you so much, Kana!" exclaimed Piplup. His face lit up.

_Yes…_Kana thought. _For some reason, whenever he feels happy…I feel happy. Maybe if we form this Exploration Team, I can one day get my memories back. _" But I lost my memories…and I don't know anything about this world…"

"Don't worry. If you promise to stay in our Exploration Team with me, I promise I'll do everything to help you get your memories back, Kana. I promise."

"Thank you so much, Piplup! It's a deal!" 

They shook "hands" on it. And so began Kana's and Piplup's adventures together!

To be continued…


	8. Journey Into the Past

Chapter 8: Journey Through the Past

Wind and rain rattled the trees and splattered everywhere throughout the dark, surprisingly cold night. A very frightened Grovyle cowered in a hole inside the safest tree he could find. _So this is the past!? _he thought. _This is the world we've come to save? What is this!? Is this what they call "wind"? How come everyone missed it? It's so scary! I wanna go back home to the future!! _For hours he waited out the storm, thinking that maybe it was going to be this way forever. _If even I get scared by something like this…I wonder how Kana feels right now. NO! WAIT! It's times like these where I have to be strong! I said so myself! _But surprisingly enough, at that very second, the rattling and splattering became less violent. And within minutes, it slowly died down to a drizzle.

Grovyle waited for a few more hours, and the storm eventually stopped altogether. _I see! So nothing is perpetual here!_ he thought. _Maybe that's why everyone missed it. _As he exited the tree, he had no idea how much things were about to change.

Within an hour, Grovyle was jumping adeptly from tree to tree when he noticed the horizon get lighter…and lighter. _Huh? _He stopped where he was and watched…and soon, a bright yellow light pierced the horizon!

"EYAAAH!!" _What __**is**__ that thing!? _He slipped off the tree and barely caught himself from falling. And then he watched as the light got bigger…and bigger…and his heart pounded faster and faster. He looked around the forested landscape and found it slowly getting more and more saturated with color. The trees' dewdrops from the rainstorm glistened and reflected the dazzling light, sometimes right into his eyes. It took all his willpower to hold onto the tree and prevent himself from falling.

Eventually, the bright light revealed itself to be a golden orb so dazzlingly bright Grovyle couldn't look directly at it or else risk blindness. And now he remembered. _So that's what they call the sun…_he thought. He then looked around at the majestically colorful landscape with the Pokémon waking up and playing around, the sky turning from shades of pink, purple, orange and yellow to brilliant shade of light blue, and the plants starting the "long forgotten" process of photosynthesis. Even Grovyle's skin seemed to dance with joy being finally exposed to the sun's rays, and he felt more invigorated than he had ever been in his whole life.

_So __**this **__is the past… _he thought. _It's so beautiful…The legends of the past weren't lying! _He took in a deep breath and said, "Are you watching this, Kana? Now I'm convinced in my heart that we **have **to save this planet…and its future." And he really was. He stayed there on the same tree, taking it all in and enjoying the view for hours.

Kana, unfortunately, was lying on a beach at this time, fainted.

Over the next few days, Grovyle wandered around Treeshroud Forest, gathering information about the world, and found a map. He compared it to the map in Kana's bag and was surprised to see how much ocean there was in place of the Stockade. After looking over everything and getting his bearings, he continued searching for the Time Gear. He never talked to anyone else for fear of being ratted out. But he was very lonely.

_Oh, Kana...Where are you? I really wish you were here! I want to see you again!_

One dark and stormy night, Kana and Piplup were in their room in Wigglytuff's Guild, which they joined a few days ago. Piplup stood by the window, looking outside.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed. "It's really stormy! And the lightning's intense! But don't worry, Kana. We're completely, totally, and in all other ways, safe in here."

Kana was rather nervous of the storm, as this was the first time she ever saw one. Pacing nervously around her bed, she looked at the rainy sky out the window and said, "Easy for you to say. Master Wigglytuff said that I'm a fire-type, and that also I'm weak against water. But you're a water-type, Piplup. You can take this."

Piplup gave a nervous laugh. "Eheheheh. Sorry, Kana. But I'm serious. We **are** safe in here. Now let's go to sleep. We've had a long day."

Finally calming down, Kana thought over the exploration of the day: They rescued an Azurill from a nasty Drowzee at Mt. Bristle. But the only reason they rescued Azurill so quickly was because of the mysterious dizzy spells (a.k.a. "dreams") Kana got that revealed the terrible trouble Azurill was headed toward.

They were both already in bed, but Piplup couldn't sleep. "Kana? Are you still awake?" Kana replied, "Uh-huh. What is it, Piplup?"

"I've been thinking it over…about that "dream" you had…I think it has something to do with you personally" he said.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You've lost your memory, and I've never heard of a human turning into a Pokémon before. I don't even know what a human is! And I've never heard of any Torchic who dreams about the future. So I think that your "dreams" are connected with your past life." he explained.

"You may be right," she whispered. _But I wonder how?_

"You know…" said Piplup. "Time is slowly going out of whack all over the world. I think it has something to do with the Time Gears."

"Huh?" Kana asked. "What **are** the Time Gears?"

Piplup began to explain. "They're precious artifacts hidden all over the world. Like in a forest…or an underground lake…or even in an altar inside a volcano. At the center of each spot is a Time Gear, responsible for keeping the proper flow of time in its region."

"Sounds very important." said Kana. "But you and Chatot said that time was going out of whack. Can the gears possibly be disturbed or something?"

"I think they can be removed…" said Piplup. "…but I don't know what will happen if they were. In fact, this is why everyone leaves the Time Gears alone; because they're certain that time would stop if that happened. **Not even the most hardened criminals would even dream of touching the Time Gears. **They're that important."

At the same time, Grovyle came across a familiar clearing in the forest. And in the middle of the clearing…was a Time Gear surrounded by a magical green humming aura!

"Finally…I finally found it!" he said. "A Time Gear!" _Just like in Kana's vision!_ Amidst the wind and rain, and against the noir-like glare of the lightning…he took it! The aura disappeared, and the humming slowly ceased, like a machine breaking down. Then… "Huh?" The area around Grovyle suddenly felt stagnant. "Uh-oh…" He just remembered Celebi's warning in time. He leapt away just as the center of where the Time Gear was shot out a jolt of lightning. And a mysterious grayscale light emerged from it! Grovyle ran away, his face in disbelief as he watched the grayscale spread. Time was stopping! _Oh no…_he thought. _The Pok__é__mon of this world will be very angry! I have to hurry! Kana…I hope the Pok__é__mon here haven't hurt you. I hope you're okay!!! _

Kana was **not** okay at all.

"Those **jerks**!" she seethed. "Who do they think they are!?"

She was talking about Team Skull, of course. Apparently the Zubat and Koffing were part of that exploration team, and their leader, Skuntank, just shot a cloud of noxious gas at her and humiliated Piplup at the same time a few days ago. In addition, they had to find some Perfect Apples (Master Wigglytuff's favorite food) yesterday, but Team Skull beat them to it, took all the apples, shot a cloud of gas at them, and because of their failure, Chatot made them go without dinner. Then, right when Master Wigglytuff was about to blow up at her, Piplup, and Chatot…Team Skull came in with a Perfect Apple, **obviously to gain the favor of Master Wigglytuff and Chatot, and make her and Piplup seem like the miserable idiots!!**

"Calm down, Kana." said Piplup. "We've got to look for some Perfect Apples." Kana and Piplup were fighting their way through the Apple Woods. They were able to sneak in today to try again. They finally reached the great big tree in the center when, as luck would have it, Team Skull jumped out from the tree to corner them. "Chaw-haw-haw!" laughed Skuntank. "Look! It's wimpy and company. Again!"

"W-what are you doing here!?" gasped Piplup.

"I've been HOPING to see YOU again…" growled Kana.

"Why, we're just here to help you get some Perfect Apples. Watch." Skuntank then tackled the side of the giant tree several times, and five of the apples fell down. "See? Now help yourself."

The anticipatory smirk on Skuntank, Koffing, and Zubat's faces were enough to give Kana and Piplup a good reason to be suspicious. They didn't move.

"What's wrong?" taunted Skuntank. "And after we were so nice to help you--"

"You can't fool me!!" shouted Kana. "I know you're going to try something, I just know it!" Piplup agreed, "Same here! I won't be fooled again!!"

Team Skull was apparently shocked. "Color me surprised!" said Skuntank. "They didn't fall for it at all!" "Aww, how boring." said Zubat. "There's only one thing left to do now…." muttered Koffing.

"I KNEW IT!!" shouted Kana and Piplup in triumph.

Skuntank and Koffing strode up to them while Zubat hung back. "All right. We'll face you in a battle, fair and square." said Skuntank.

"Get ready, Kana!" whispered Piplup. "They're going to try something!" But Kana was already ready. She was itching to start pummeling them.

"Koffing and I will use our…**noxious gas**--AAAAAAAAAH!!"

Kana blew a gigantic Flamethower right at them! She then ran in and kicked the living daylights out of both of them (in other words, 10 kicks per second for each bad guy). Zubat, seeing how the noxious gas combo wasn't going according to plan, tried attacking. Kana roasted him with another Flamethrower and kicked everyone for several more rounds. KA-POW! PUNT! BAM! BIFF! There was such a fury of attacks in such a short time, even Piplup decided to help by Peck-ing them. Yes, Kana was unleashing her full fury on them because she knew the kind of injustices these guys could inflict. Then to top it off, she blew one final Flamethrower at them. FWOOOOSH!

"YEAH!" she yelled in joy. "WE DID IT!!"

"Uh…Kana?" Piplup pointed to the tree. "Big trouble."

Apparently, the tree caught fire! The Perfect Apples were in danger! But Kana had never seen anything catch fire before, especially since her memories were erased. "Piplup?" she asked. "What is this? What's happening!?"

Luckily, Piplup let loose a flood of Brine on the fire, and it was promptly extinguished. "Whew. Tragedy averted." he sighed. Kana realized what was going to happen and said, "Oh. Sorry." The rest of the Brine also hit the weakened Team Skull on the ground, and since they were below half HP, knocked them out. "Oooeeee…"

Kana and Piplup picked up all the Perfect Apples on the ground and in the tree, and skedaddled back to the guild as fast as they could. Kana said, "Thank you, Piplup!"

"No, thank **you**, Kana! You showed 'em!"

And so, Master Wigglytuff received his Perfect Apples from Kana and Piplup, while Team Skull was reprimanded for failing. And later, everyone was chosen for the great expedition to Fogbound Lake!

Several days later, Grovyle arrived at the watery cave and found the Time Gear there again, just like in Kana's visions. He jumped up, snagged the Time Gear, and ran away as fast as he could. "Two down, four to go." _Just like Kana would say,_ he thought._ Kana…I really hope you're getting the Time Gear at Dark Crater right now. I can't go there. And now…_ "Ugh…" he groaned. _The next three Time Gears…will be guarded by Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf. Better do those quickly. _He emerged outside and ran towards the Fogbound Lake far away.

At the Foggy Forest, right outside the guild's base camp, Kana couldn't help but feel something strange…like she's been here before. But she decided it was nothing. Before she and Piplup started exploring, she saw a bright red triangle-shaped gem. "Oooooh…pretty." she sighed.

Piplup was confused. "Kana? Why would you think that thing is pretty?" he asked.

"I don't know…" admitted Kana. "But I think it may be important. I'm keeping it!"

After they got through the forest, they came across a clearing with an odd statue. "I wonder what this statue is for…" Piplup wondered. He then noticed a sign on the statue and read:

Reignite the life that burned within Groudon.

Then the sky shall blaze with the sun's heat…

The path to treasure shall be revealed.

"I wonder what that means. Hey, I know! Kana, can you touch this statue?" By now, he figured out that whenever she touches something, she gets the visions.

"Okay…" said Kana, walking up to the base. _I wonder what I'll see…_ And she touched it. Suddenly, she got dizzy, and two flashes of light darted across her eyes.

[There was nothing but blackness to see. "That's it!" "I see!"

"We were supposed to place the Drought Stone in Groudon's heart. That lifts the fog!"

"Very well done! Good job, partner!"] Then it ended.

_Huh? That was different than usual. Why couldn't I see anything? How come I could only hear voices? __**And whose voices were those, anyway? **_thought Kana. Nevertheless, she followed their directions and placed the gem in the statue's heart. Suddenly, an earthquake occurred! The fog cleared--and then the upside-down Fogbound Lake was revealed!

Kana and Piplup (and later, the rest of the guild people) fought through the Steam Cave, defeated Groudon, and found out that it was an illusion created by the legendary Uxie. Luckily, since Uxie was the Knowledge Pokémon, he had the common sense to listen to Kana's and Piplup's good intentions. He led them to the lake. Even though it was already nighttime, the bug Pokémon by the lake illuminated the surface in glowing dots of yellow, blue, pink, and purple.

"It's so pretty!" said Piplup. Kana thought so, too.

"Look over there…in the center." Uxie pointed to a dome-shaped green light right above the lake's surface. Inside of it was a blue gear slowly spinning around.

Kana stared at it, entranced. _What is that…? _she thought._ Why is it making my heart beat so hard? Is it something…connected to my memory? How…?_

"That's a Time Gear." explained Uxie. "Wh-what, really? A Time Gear!?" Piplup had no idea what one looked like, so he was naturally surprised. "That is the reason why I stand guard over this lake. So that no one will take it." Uxie then conjured up his Groudon illusion. "AAAAAH!" shouted Piplup. The Groudon looked so real for a second there!

"Be calm. That is only an illusion. It chases most trespassers away." said Uxie. He then faced the lake and said "Others before you have defeated my Groudon illusion and made their way to this lake. But they were trespassers! So I erased their memories…and therefore protected the Time Gear."

That reminded Piplup. "Hey Uxie! You can erase memories, right? This is my friend Kana. She has something to ask."

Kana stepped forward. "Some time ago, my memories were erased, and I don't know how or why. Uxie, did I ever come here? **Were you the one who erased my memory?" **

"The answer is…no. You never came here. Furthermore, I only erase memories of the lake. I can never completely wipe anyone's memory."

"Oh…" Kana and Piplup's faces fell. The disappointment was too great a shock.

"Look!" Uxie pointed. "You two just came in time!" For right then, the water in the middle of the lake erupted into a spectacular geyser illuminated by the Time Gear and the extra illumination mentioned earlier. With a light green inner glow marked with soft alluring pinks, purples, yellows, and blues, it was a wonderful marvel to behold.

"Wooooooow…" Kana and Piplup stared at the geyser. _It's so beautiful!_

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you. I honestly don't know how your memory was erased or who did it. But why don't you enjoy this view a little longer? Oh, and as long as you promise never to tell anyone about this place…I promise not to erase your memory of this lake."

"We promise!" said Kana and Piplup.

They sat there taking in all in for hours, until they finally packed up for the trip back to Treasure Town.

About a week later, Grovyle finally saw the upside-down mountain that was Steam Cave. He was surprised that the fog was already cleared, but he didn't mind. He had to take the Time Gear that was inside Fogbound Lake at the top. And so he went.

When he arrived at the top, he immediately hid behind a rock. Because, floating right in front of the lake and standing like a sentry…was Uxie, the Knowledge Pokémon! Just like in Kana's vision! _Uh-oh,_ thought Grovyle. _I'm going to have to fight him for the Time Gear! I'd…I'd better take him by surprise. Do this as quickly as possible. Hopefully he will never notice, _he frantically thought.

But Uxie did notice someone, or something, nearby. "Who's there!?" he yelled. "Show yourself!" He then conjured up his Groudon illusion facing the general direction of the intruder.

"AAAH!" yelled Grovyle. How could Groudon appear out of nowhere like that!? But then he realized something even more grievous. _Oh no! My cover is blown! I'd better go NOW!_

"Who are you!?" asked Uxie, but he didn't have any time to react. Grovyle shot at him like a (green) lightning bolt and Leaf Bladed Uxie right in the head. And it was a good thing, too. The Groudon disappeared, and Grovyle realized it was just an illusion. If he attacked the Groudon illusion instead, Uxie would've had time to erase his memory. _Whew, _thought Grovyle. _I just remembered that Uxie can erase memories. _

He dived into the lake as quick as he could and swam toward the Time Gear in the middle. (Yes, he learned how to swim during his info-gathering session in Treeshroud Forest.) He grabbed it and felt the familiar sensation of time beginning to stop. Luckily, he was so fast a swimmer he was able to reach the shore and run away before the time-stop caught up to him. As he ran away with the Time Gear, Grovyle thought back to the vision of the place. _Erasing memories…Kana's memory…? No. That was probably a different Kana…I hope._

On the shore of the beach next to Beach Cave, Kana, Piplup, and the great famous out-of-the-blue explorer Dusknoir met to discuss things. Dusknoir recently arrived at Treasure Town, and because he was such a famous and all-knowing knowledgeable explorer, Kana and Piplup decided to ask if he knew anything about Kana.

"Yes. She lost her memory and was turned into a Torchic…and had the memory of being a 'human' before that!" explained Piplup.

"I beg your pardon!? H-human!?" exclaimed the great Dusknoir.

Kana noticed Dusknoir's shock. "Do you know something about this, Dusknoir!?"

Dusknoir began to ponder what he was told. "A human…with the Dimensional Scream ability…You said you know your name, at least?" _Perhaps THIS is where Grovyle's partner has been hiding all this time?_

"Yes." she said. "**My name is Kana**."

And with that, Dusknoir knew for sure. "I-I see! You're…Kana…"

"Does my name ring a bell?" asked Kana. "Please, Dusknoir, sir…I've got to know!" Tears formed in her eyes as she looked at him, desperate for an answer.

_Ugh…_thought Dusknoir. _I almost feel sorry for her…But no matter! She got amnesia! This is a lucky stroke for me! No way I'll tell her anything! _"…No." Then, without realizing what was on his face, said "It means nothing to me, unfortunately."

But Kana noticed. _Uh, what!? _she thought. _Did I just see…Did Dusknoir just hide…the faintest of smiles? What's going on in here!?_ But she counted to 10 and calmed herself down before blowing up at him. (Spoiler: She regretted this later.)

"Well," said Dusknoir. "Maybe this is why we have become friends. I will offer you my full cooperation to help find the cause of Kana's memory loss. After all, I can't stand knowing there is something I don't know! Hoo hoo hoo! Ha ha ha!"

"Thank you, Dusknoir, sir!" said Piplup and Kana simultaneously. But Kana couldn't help but think that there was more to Dusknoir's laugh than just humor.

There was. For what he really thought was, _I found you, Kana Amara! I finally found you! I told you there was no escaping from ME! Hoo hoo hoo! Ha ha ha!_

Just then, Bidoof ran into them, looking very winded and tired. "I finally…found you all…" "What's wrong, Bidoof?" asked Piplup.

"The call has been put out! All apprentices must report to the guild!"

"Let's go, Kana!" said Piplup. "And you too, Dusknoir, sir!"

When they arrived, there was a crowd of Pokémon around the wanted posters. Then Chatot (head of intelligence) announced "A third Time Gear…has been stolen!"

"Oh no" said Piplup. "It couldn't have been the one from…Fogbound Lake!?"

"Yes, it was!" said Chatot. "Uxie is under the protection of Officer Magnezone's squad. According to Uxie's victim statement…the identity of the thief has been revealed!"

"Then what kind of critter are we dealing with!?" asked Bidoof. Chatot pointed to an all-points bulletin in the center. And the Pokémon on the poster…was Grovyle!!

"This Pokémon goes by the name of Grovyle." said Piplup weakly.

Kana glared at the poster with seething anger. "I'll stop him…no matter what!"

_Now I see how it's all coming together. _thought Dusknoir. _Too bad for you, Grovyle…and you too, Kana! Hoo hoo hoo ha ha ha!_

Grovyle headed towards the desert, with 3 Time Gears in his possession. But when he heard the voices of a group of Pokémon, he hid behind some rocks and made his way around the group. But what he heard—and glimpsed—almost made his heart stop.

"Oh my gosh!" said a Sunflora. "Who could steal the Time Gear from Fogbound Lake!? No one spilled the secret, but…I can't bear to face Uxie anymore!"

"You've got that right," said a Dugtrio. "Uxie said that this here Grovyle was the thief!" He held out a poster…with Grovyle's face on it!

_OH NO!!!_ thought Grovyle, barely suppressing a gasp of alarm. He expected to be the object of some concern, but wasn't expecting this full-blown Wanted Bounty Hunter poster! And Uxie did this! _How could he rat me out so fast!? I thought I knocked him out! _He was so shocked, he almost gave away his position. Luckily he was able to calm himself long enough to let the group pass by.

"That Grovyle's a nasty piece of work, yup yup!" said a Bidoof. "But we don't know him. So how come he knew where it was and stole it?"

"Not even the lowest of criminals would EVER steal a Time Gear! They are the foundations of time!" said Sunflora. "You said it! We've got to arrest this guy!" "As soon as we're done exploring Crystal Cave, let's find him!"

_Uurgh…they're going to Crystal Cave. Why Crystal Cave, of all places?_ Grovyle remembered there was another Time Gear there. _But I can't lose focus. I've got to get the Time Gear at Quicksand Cave first while no one is there…except Mesprit._ As he proceeded on, he had no idea how wrong he was.

Grovyle jumped head-first into the quicksand pit and fought through it at lightning speed. _Last time I remember, my parents were here…in the future._ But when he arrived at the cave last seen in Kana's vision, he saw a vicious fight scene! A Torchic and a Piplup were in a heated battle against Mesprit! _How could some random Pok__é__mon be here already?_ he thought. But that didn't matter. Looking beyond the battle, he saw the Time Gear in the middle of the lake. As soon as Mesprit was too weak to fight, he would jump in and grab the Time Gear. He laid low and watched.

"I…keep…telling…you! We're not here for the Time Gear!" squeaked the Piplup. "Don't lie to me!" shouted Mesprit while shooting a psychic attack. "Uxie alerted me by telepathy! It has to be you!"

"ARE YOU BLIND!?" screamed the Torchic. As she said this, she unleashed a huge Flamethrower so powerful that it scared the heck out of Grovyle. It completely engulfed Mesprit and knocked her out of the battle.

Although she was badly weakened, Mesprit was finally calm enough. "I'm listening," she said. Torchic explained, "We're not here for the Time Gear, okay? We just wanted to find out where it is so we could defend it." Piplup added, "That Uxie incident was a disaster…and we don't want that happening again. Okay?"

"Okay…" said Mesprit. "But…if the thief wasn't you…then **who?**"

"That would probably be…me."

Grovyle stepped out and admitted it out loud. _*sigh*…Since everyone knows me now, there's no point in keeping it a secret anymore._ He never liked lying, anyway. "Wha—Who are you!?" shouted Mesprit. "G-G-Grovyle!!" screamed the Piplup. He seemed to faint with shock. "So **you're **the thief…" growled the Torchic. Her eyes glowed with such a fierce fiery intensity that for a second, it reminded Grovyle of Kana when she fought Dusknoir. "I'm sorry…" said Grovyle. "But I need that Time Gear. Stand aside."

"I-I won't!" gasped Mesprit. "I won't let you take it!"

Grovyle sighed. He expected them to do this the hard way. "Then I have no choice." Then he Leaf Bladed Mesprit out of the way so fast no one saw it happen. "Mesprit!!" screamed the Torchic and Piplup.

"You lost that fight." explained Grovyle. "So don't push it." Mesprit scowled at him. Even if she was weakened, she wouldn't give up. But Piplup and Torchic felt sorry for what they did to her and decided to help her out. They ran in front of Grovyle and blocked his way into the lake. Grovyle had another threat to deal with. "Hey! You two! Stand aside."

"N-n-n-no way, you thief!" stammered the Piplup.

The Torchic, however, went berserk with rage. "YOU'LL NEVER TAKE THE TIME GEAR! NEVER!!!!" With that, she shot out a huge Flamethrower stream from her beak right at Grovyle! Grovyle barely had time to register that the Torchic screamed the line from the vision and not Mesprit before he ducked. Mesprit, lying on the ground, thought, _That's exactly…what I would've said…if I wasn't so hurt…right now. Thank you, Torchic._

Because of the time Grovyle spent with Kana, he wasn't afraid of fire anymore, not even a Flamethrower like that. He ducked and instantly Leaf Bladed them both out of commission. The Piplup was especially hurt. "S-so fast…" he gasped. "How…?"

Grovyle was sorry he had to overwhelm them like that. "Forgive me…but I have no quarrel with you." He then dove into the lake and swam towards the Time Gear.

"I'm sorry…" groaned Mesprit. "Uxie wasn't talking about you…He was talking about that Grovyle…"

Piplup started to cry. "The thief…He's taking it…"

The Torchic, however, refused to give up. "NO!! GET BACK HERE!!" She unleashed round after round of Flamethrowers at Grovyle. Even though he barely swam out of the way in time (and the water nullified their effects, anyway), the water started to get really hot, really fast. Steam rose up, making it harder for the Torchic to hit her target. She thought, _AAAGH! Stupid steam! WHY does it have to show up NOW!?_

Then Grovyle grabbed the Time Gear! He swam for his life.

On the shore, Mesprit woke up. "Oh no! This is bad!"

"W-what's happening!?" shouted Piplup. A second later, he got his answer. Electricity-like light streamed across the cavern, turning everything to grayscale. Time was stopping! "Hurry!" shouted Mesprit. "Let's get out of here! Otherwise, we'll be trapped in time!"

This finally seemed to snap the Torchic back to her senses. "RUUUUUUUN!!" she cried in a panic, dragging the surprised Piplup along. On the other side, running in the opposite direction, Grovyle silently agreed. _No need to say that twice! _

Finally, Grovyle made it to the Crystal Cave. _Just two more to go…or one more if Kana keeps her end of the bargain. How come it's taking her this long just to get one Time Gear? When will I meet up with her? Maybe she's also looking for Temporal Tower…Urk! _He then remembered an important and grievous fact.

_**Uh-oh! **__I don't know where Temporal Tower is because it's in the middle of the ocean! And I'm a wanted criminal! If I can't find it…AAAAAH! _His brain spazzed out. Luckily, he regained his senses in time when he reached the lake. _N-no! I can't panic! I've got to grab this Time Gear! Temporal Tower can wait!_

He hid behind a crystal and saw the lake guarded by Azelf. As he formulated his strategy, he thought back to his most recent caper. _Mesprit didn't deserve to get hurt like that. I'll try to use the same strategy on this guy as I did on Uxie. _He snuck up…as silently as possible…and Leaf Bladed Azelf right on the head with perfect accuracy!

"N-no…" groaned Azelf. "You can't take the Time Gear…Never…" Grovyle was surprised that Azelf still had the will to talk even after being taken by surprise. But he didn't care. He prepared to jump into the lake, and then--

--**The entire lake crystallized**! Legions of crystals sprouted out of the icy base, covering the entire lake. The Time Gear was trapped inside!

Grovyle staggered. This was exactly like Kana's vision! He remembered thinking how he should've grabbed the Time Gear before this happened. Now it happened, but he never had any time! Grovyle slowly turned around, growling "What…did…you…do!?"

"I activated the Fail-Safe system. I prepared to…activate this specifically for when you would arrive. Uxie and Mesprit alerted me…by telepathy." Azelf explained, despite the fact that he was in much pain, and would likely receive more.

_Not telepathy again…_Grovyle's annoyance turned to anger. He prepared to strike. "Why you…" _You idiot! You're ensuring your own demise in the future!_ Azelf didn't waver in his resolve. "Even…if I die…I'll never…let you take it…" He could only lie there on the ground and brace himself.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!" screamed a familiar voice. It was Torchic! The same Torchic and Piplup ran up from behind and confronted Grovyle. "YOU MURDERER! WE WON'T LET YOU DESTROY TIME!!" Torchic was as wrathful as ever, maybe even more so.

"What the--!? Who are you--" stammered Grovyle. _Who are these two? Why do they keep trying to stop me? __**I'm trying to help them! **_"I never did anything to you! Now out of the way! Please! I **need **that Time Gear--"

"--so that you can stop time! WHO ARE YOU KIDDING!?" screeched the Torchic. "And that has everything to do with US!" With that, she and Piplup charged at Grovyle.

They fought. Grovyle didn't even feel Piplup's Bubblebeam attacks nor the Brine soakings, although the Pecks hurt a little. The Torchic, however, hit him square on with her unusually powerful Flamethrowers. His skin burned like crazy, and the fire kept spreading, but he willed himself to endure it. In the end, Grovyle knocked them both into the ground with superfast Leaf Blades, especially on the Torchic (though Piplup took more damage). But Torchic wouldn't give up. Right as Grovyle prepared to strike the finishing blow--

"Stop!"

He was blocked by someone he never wanted to see again. It was Dusknoir!!! "Are you all right, Piplup?" asked Dusknoir.

"AAAAH! You…you…" stammered Grovyle stepping back. _No way! No…freakin'…way! How could HE be here!? Why here? Why now! Anyone but him!_

"So we meet again." said Dusknoir. He smashed Grovyle into the new crystal wall.

"Grah! I can't believe it! You follow me even here!" grunted Grovyle. "Why can't you just **stay **in one place and **leave me alone!?**"

Dusknoir proceeded to explain. "It's quite simple. Master Dialga punished me **again!** But he also gave me a second chance. When he found out that you and your partner traveled through time, he sent me to this same time. **And I have all sorts of advantages over you now! **Hoo hoo ha ha ha!"

Grovyle calmed down. "Dusknoir…I'm surprised to see you in this world. But I'm ready!" He lifted his arm and prepared to fight.

"Humph. So you'll fight." said Dusknoir. "But can you win? Against ME?"

"We'll see."

They charged. Right when Grovyle and Dusknoir confronted each other, there was a huge flash of light. When it cleared, Dusknoir found that…Grovyle had vanished!

"Wha--He disappeared!" Then Dusknoir figured it out. "That blasted Grovyle! He never intended to fight me at all! Well, no matter. There's no escaping ME!" He then vanished, too.

Piplup and the Torchic were watching and had all sorts of questions. _The great Dusknoir and Grovyle know each other? How did they both disappear? I don't understand! What's going on? _Seconds later, they both fainted.

Meanwhile, Grovyle retreated to a safe distance from the Crystal Lake. Panicking, he thought, _Now Dusknoir is here! M-maybe he's already captured Kana! Maybe that's why she hasn't gotten any Time Gears! And now the Time Gear is covered in ice! The mission is in jeopardy! What do I do!? What __**can **__I do now!? _

The next day, outside of Crystal Cave, Grovyle was looking for an implement that could possibly break the ice, like fire sticks. Next to Crystal Cave, there was a village. And between three Pokémon who happened to pass by, he heard a very very disturbing conversation.

"Did you know that Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf are planning to seal the Time Gear away forever?"

"Yeah! That's the one at Crystal Lake, right? The one that Grovyle thief is after."

"How are they going to do that?"

"They're going to put some sort of spell that will make it impossible for anyone to reach or take it for all time! It'll be sealed deep down within the planet!"

"Good idea! Now that Grovyle can't paralyze the planet! I feel better already."

"Well of course. You'd think these idiots would think of this by now."

From his hiding place behind a rock, Grovyle sat gaping at the group as they passed by. And then he panicked again. _T-they're going to seal the Time Gear away!? Those __**idiots! **__They're just ensuring their own demise! Why don't these Pok__é__mon ever see sense anymore!?_ Deciding that Kana's fire sticks in her bag were suddenly suitable enough, he ran to Crystal Lake at hyperspeed.

When he arrived, he saw Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf all in a circle--sealing the Time Gear away! Bright light was shared between all three, with a blue magic circle over the gear. (In actuality, they were **pretending **to seal it away, since they don't really have that power. Don't be ridiculous. But you gotta admit, they had some really nice special effects.) "NOOOOOOO!! Don't!" he yelled, running straight at them. He swung Leaf Blades at them--and they all dodged it!

"Grovyle the thief…" said Uxie. "We've been expecting you."

"Huh?" asked Grovyle.

"Wheh-heh-heh!"

Without warning, a swarm of Sableye jumped out from behind the crystals and landed directly on Grovyle! _It's an ambush! _he realized too late. He fought some of them off, but more kept coming. And in this break, Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf combined their psychic energies and blasted him with a mega-psychic attack!!

Grovyle crashed into the ground, clobbered and dazed. His eyes spun from the attack. _The Sableye are here…and that means…_

"Hoo hoo hoo ha ha ha!!" laughed a voice he didn't ever want to hear again.

_Dusknoir is here!! _he thought. _So the lake Pok__é__mon and Dusknoir are working together!? How? WHY!?_

Dusknoir strode out from behind a crystal. "Grovyle the thief! You've run away from the law for too long. Your reign of terror is now…officially over!"

"Huh?" Grovyle was confused. _Since when did Dusknoir talk so cheezily? Since when did he act like the good guy?_

"We won't let you paralyze the planet any longer!" shouted Mesprit.

"Wh-what!?" Grovyle was completely lost. _But the planet became paralyzed when Temporal Tower collapsed! Why do they think __**I'm **__the one doing it?_

"Do it, Dusknoir, sir!" said Azelf. "Save our world!"

Dusknoir smirked. "Gladly." And Grovyle figured it out. _Dusknoir is tricking everyone on this world so he can capture me! _"N-no, wait! You're making a mistake! I need that Time Gear to save--MMMPH!" A Sableye slapped a muffler over him.

But it didn't matter. Dusknoir charged up a Shadow Ball. Grovyle couldn't move because Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf were holding him down. And then, Dusknoir attacked! "This is for justice!"

_This is the most terrible injustice in the world…_thought Grovyle, right before he was hit. KA-POW! As he fainted, his last thought was, _I…I failed. I'm so sorry, Kana! I'm so sorry!_

When he woke up, Grovyle was bound up, gagged, and being pushed along by the Sableye. He was in the middle of a town called Treasure Town. Up ahead, he saw a huge crowd of Pokémon. And that Torchic and Piplup was in there!

"Whew. I'm so glad they finally captured him!"

"Now the world is finally saved!"

_So it was true, _thought Grovyle sadly. _They really are being played for fools. _But worst of all, he saw Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf all carrying the Time Gears he worked so hard to collect!_ "NO! STOP! YOU'RE MAKING A MISTAKE!!" _he tried to scream. But all that came out was "Mmmph! Mmmph! Mmmmmph!"

Now that Kana saw that Grovyle was safely tied up, she could finally relax. But when she looked at his eyes, she saw something in it that she never saw before. It was terror. Absolute terror. This wasn't the look of an insane person. This was someone who looked like he just failed to stop the destruction of the galaxy. The only reason that she sensed all this at all was the fact that she wasn't blind with rage towards him anymore.

"He's tied up…" said Piplup. "He can't even say anything…"

With that, Kana began to wonder, _I wonder what he would say if they didn't gag him. Maybe he has a good reason for…_She shook her head. _No. He tried to steal the Time Gears. He has to be seeking to paralyze the planet._

And after the next few minutes, Grovyle sat staring down into the Dimensional Hole. It was a creepy wavy blob that alternated between bands of blue and black light. _NOOOOO! Not the future! I don't want to go back to the Stockade! NO! _The Sableye gave him a few pushes, but he stood his ground. And then he thought, _Since Dusknoir doesn't have Kana here, that probably means she's still in this world! Maybe there's still a chance for her to finish our mission!_ Then the Sableye all tackled him at once, he lost his balance, and--he plunged into the temporal terror that was the Dimensional Hole! As he fell through time to the future…he fainted.

Before he stepped into the Dimensional Hole, Dusknoir called Kana and Piplup up.

They stood in front of him, ready to see him off.

"Oh wow…" sobbed Piplup. "This really is good-bye…Seriously, thank you for everything you've done, Dusknoir, sir!"

"Thank you for saving our world, too…" said Kana. Even she began to cry a little.

"But before you leave…have you found out anything else about me? Anything else about how I lost my memory…and how I became a Torchic?"

"I'm sorry, Kana" said Dusknoir. "But I must figure that out another time. Right now, I have to bring Grovyle to proper justice. We'll meet again…someday!"

"I hope we will, Dusknoir sir!" she sobbed. Then she and Piplup cried simultaneously, "Goodbye!!"

"Yes, this really is good-bye…" said Dusknoir, as he turned to the Hole.

"…Or is it?" _Now this is it. No more Mr. Nice Dusknoir sir. Hoo hoo ha! _

Kana sensed a tone of insidiousness suddenly creep into his voice. _Wha-? Huh?_ Her pulse suddenly started to quicken.

And then, Dusknoir whirled around--and the stomach on his chest was wide open! "It's too soon for farewells!" he yelled. He then grabbed both Kana and Piplup! With his height being 6 times taller than both of them, he was able to grab their entire bodies in each of his hands!

"AAAAAAAH!" they screamed. Kana wanted to blow a Flamethrower at him, but the open mouth on Dusknoir's chest struck so much shock and fear into her that she was completely paralyzed! And so was Piplup!

"You two…are coming with me!" he roared in triumph. Quick as a flash, he jumped into the Dimensional Hole with both of them in tow! Everyone in the town square was shocked. But before anyone could make a move, the Hole disappeared!

Kana, Piplup, and Dusknoir all fell through the many dimensions into the future. "AAAAAAAAAAH!" Dusknoir was the only one who didn't scream.

To be continued…


	9. Eternal Bonds

Chapter 9: Eternal Bonds

Back to 500 years in the future!

Dusknoir stood over Primal Dialga's bottomless-pit throne, glad that his latest mission was finally a success. Primal Dialga said, _Very well done, Dusknoir. You brought Kana and Grovyle back before they could threaten my safety. But…why did you bring back that Piplup, too? He belongs in the past._

Dusknoir began to explain, "That Piplup was in possession of the key to the Hidden Land…where Temporal Tower was. I just wanted to make sure no one could ever get there and threaten you, Master Dialga."

_Ah, yes! I did not think of that. Very good. Very good. But…you know what you must do now. And DO NOT FAIL!_ "I understand," said Dusknoir. "I will see to the execution immediately." He then recited,

Those who seek to alter the course of history…shall be eliminated from history.

"Kana! Kana! Wake up!"

"Ugh…" Piplup was shaking her awake. She blinked to find…they were in a jail cell! "AAAH! So this is the future!?" She expected it to be a world of peace with advanced technology or something…not primitive grayscale like this! And why were they in a jail cell in the first place?

The next thing they knew, a group of Sableye opened the gates and stepped in. They were blindfolded and pushed along with no idea what was happening or where they were going. And when the blindfolds were taken off…there were bright spotlights on them! Kana and Piplup were both tied to columns, and on the one next to them…was Grovyle!

Once again, Grovyle managed to escape from the Stockade. But this time, he had to make sure Piplup and the Torchic managed to keep up. When they arrived outside, they were both shocked to see the world in front of them, with its frozen gray rocks floating in space. The three of them made their way to Chasm Cave before Piplup became so tired he had to rest.

"Now hold on a second, Grovyle! We only helped you back there because we had no choice…but I don't trust you quite yet" he said.

Grovyle replied, "Then there's no point in continuing together if there's no trust between us. And I don't have time. The Sableye are coming." He then left ahead of them.

"I just don't trust him!" said Piplup. "I just don't! He's the bad guy who tried to paralyze the planet! But why did Dusknoir sir try to…?" He was then cut off when he heard the Sableye after them, so he and Kana continued running.

When they finally caught up with Grovyle, they rescued him from an angry Spiritomb, and Piplup was finally able to convince Grovyle to tell them about why the future is like this. So, under a natural alcove (a.k.a. the same place where Kana's parents once lived, but now completely free of stuff), Grovyle told them the whole story about how the collapse of Temporal Tower, not the Time Gear stealing, was the cause of the planet's paralysis. "…and Dusknoir was an agent sent by Primal Dialga to get rid of me."

"What!? The great Dusknoir!? But…how?" asked Piplup. And then he noticed Kana hadn't ever spoken all this time. "What's wrong?"

Kana just stared at the bleak landscape with an expression on her face Piplup had never seen before. Her will was…completely shattered. As if there was no hope left at all. Even Grovyle noticed that she wasn't having any angry outbursts like the last few times he saw her. "This world…it's…it's so sad. You lived here all your life, Grovyle?"

"That's right," he said. "Even you're feeling its effects, aren't you?"

"Yes…" she trailed off. Then she made up her mind. "Piplup! We…we have to get back! And we have to save this world! So that…this never happens again. We'll go with you, Grovyle!"

Piplup was shocked. "What!? Why…? I thought--"

"Grovyle was the bad guy? I think what he said was true, 'cause it makes sense when you look at this place! And he's the only one who can get us back! We have to get back, Piplup! We have to!"

Grovyle said, "I know a Pokémon named Celebi. She's the Time Travel Pokémon, and she was the one who sent me into the past. Let's go."

They reached Deep Dusk Forest. "Celebi has lent her support to reshaping history. If Primal Dialga knows of this place, Celebi will have fled. Hopefully that isn't the case." Grovyle then called out into the thin air, "Celebi! Are you here? It's me, Grovyle!"

They waited for a minute. "She's…not coming out." said Piplup. Then a horrifying thought crossed his mind. "What if…what if she's been captured by Primal Dialga!?"

"Me? Captured? Impossible! You've **got **to be joking!"

"AAAH! Who said that!?" Kana was creeped out by the voice from nowhere. But then, a light materialized in front of Grovyle to reveal…Celebi was indeed there.

"It's been too long, my dear Grovyle!" she said.

"Yes. It has been a while, Celebi." said Grovyle.

Piplup was shocked. "WHOA WHOA WAIT! This tiny thing is Celebi!?"

"Now that is downright rude!" Celebi felt so insulted, she almost went to poking his face. " 'Tiny thing!?' How can you say that when you can clearly see that **I'm taller than you**!?" That was true. Celebi was 2'00", Piplup and Kana were 1'4". And for reference, Grovyle was 3'11", one foot taller than normal for his kind.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It's just that…since I heard you could travel through time…I thought you'd be some huge, awe-inspiring Pokemon or something…" Piplup weakly explained.

"Hmmph! How uncouth! But…I forgive you." Celebi calmed down and smiled at Piplup, whom to her suddenly looked a lot cuter (but not nearly as dashing as Grovyle). "After all, you must find me cuter and more special than you imagined!"

"Uh…huh…" Kana, Piplup, and Grovyle were a little dumbfounded for a moment. Then Grovyle got down to business. "Celebi. I need your help again."

"I know." she said. "Seeing you back here tells me everything I need to know. I was wondering why this world **didn't vaporize into the vast recesses of time **after I sent you to the past. It turns out you failed in your mission to save it, right?"

"Uugh…" Grovyle flinched. Celebi didn't have to put it that way.

"I hope you succeed this time. I've had enough of this. Besides, if you would be so kind as to prevent the planet's paralysis…we'll finally be spared the agony of this world of darkness. My dear Grovyle, **I will devote my whole life to save the world!**"

Kana sensed the tone in Celebi's and knew she meant it more than just figuratively. And for that, Kana's eyes welled up with tears for the first time in a long, long, time.

Celebi noticed this. "Oh? What's this? Your friend…"

_What…? What…? _Kana suddenly noticed that everyone was now looking at her.

Celebi remembered how Grovyle's friend reacted all those years ago, and finally made the connection that somehow, for some reason, this Torchic…was Kana Amara. "No…It can't be…" _I'm so sorry, Kana…I don't know how this happened to you._

"What's wrong, Celebi?" asked Grovyle.

"Um…it's nothing. Let's go to the Passage of Time."

With Celebi leading the way, Kana, Piplup, and Grovyle made their way through the Deep Dusk Forest. (In a side conversation, Celebi told Kana and Piplup about how Grovyle is so hasty and impatient, and that she wishes he could slow down once in a while.)They emerged to find the Passage of Time where it was supposed to be: right on the side of the rocky cliff.

Without warning, Dusknoir and his Sableye minions surrounded them!

"AAAAAAH!" yelled Kana. "Dusknoir, sir…" said Piplup. Grovyle kept his cool. "I see. So you let us run free, then ambush us right here, so you could capture Celebi as well as us. I'm sorry, Celebi. I didn't see this coming."

"Oh? That's fine, my dear Grovyle! I can't be caught, remember? Besides, apologies don't suit your style! Unlike a few others…" she replied.

"Dusknoir! You and me! Now!" Grovyle prepared to fight.

"Grovyle. Did you think I would be foolish enough to come with just the Sableye?" asked Dusknoir.

"Huh!?"

"Now, Master Dialga!"

The next thing they knew, Primal Dialga appeared on the cliff right above the Passage of Time! "GROOOOH!" he roared. _You won't escape this time, Grovyle!!!_

"What is it? Who is that!?" said Piplup. Suddenly, Grovyle's self-confidence seemed to instantly vaporize. "That's…Primal…Dialga…" He remembered how Primal Dialga almost killed him and Kana right before they left for the past, and they escaped by a miracle thanks to Celebi. It was like that all over again! There was no escape this time!

"Oh? Where's your bravado now, Grovyle?" taunted Dusknoir.

"I surrender, Dusknoir." he replied. "Do with me as you like. But…hope is still alive. Even if I can't go back…my best friend will see our mission through to the end."

"WHAT!?" Kana and Piplup couldn't believe he was doing such a thing. "My d-d-dear Grovyle!" Even Celebi couldn't think of anything to change his mind. Piplup added, "You didn't come to our world alone, Grovyle!?"

"And what would her name be?" asked Dusknoir, barely suppressing laughter. "Go on. Say the name."

"Her name was…Kana."

**"WHAAAAT!?"** Kana's brain practically exploded. _I was a human from the future!?_ "B-b-but, this is Kana right here!" said Piplup. _I can't believe we never even introduced her until now! _"You never even noticed, my dear Grovyle!?" said Celebi. Grovyle was utterly stunned. "No…that can't be. The Kana I knew…was a human."

"Hoo hoo hoo ha ha ha! **Exactly**, Grovyle!" laughed Dusknoir. "Let me explain. After Master Dialga punished me again, he gave me a second chance. He sent me to the past to go after you. But before that, I researched extensively about that time period thanks to Master Dialga's super secret library, which no one else is allowed to see. And so I arrived with the knowledge of how to win the trust of the Pokémon there. And that was where I met Kana and Piplup."

"But you saved us from that Luxio tribe in the Amp Plains, Dusknoir sir!" said Piplup. "Weren't you supposed to be good?"

"That was **before **I found who you truly were, fool!" yelled Dusknoir. He continued, "Anyway, at the time, I suspected nothing…but when they mentioned the Dimensional Scream, I got suspicious. I asked them about it, and found that Kana was once a human! And when she told me her name, there was no doubt! This was the exact same Kana I was sent to get rid of!"

"………." Kana was so stunned, she couldn't think of anything to say.

"And when Piplup showed me his "personal treasure", it turned out to be the Relic Fragment. That was the key to enter the Hidden Land where Master Dialga's home was!"

Primal Dialga shot a Hyper Beam at Dusknoir. _Quit giving away my secrets, idiot!_

"Oops. Sorry." Apparently the Hyper Beam was a Normal-type attack and had no effect on Dusknoir whatsoever. He continued, "So I gained their trust, and when the time came…I was able to pull them both into the future after you, Grovyle! So I could get rid of all three of you at once! And now, we will be rid of you for all time!!"

Piplup sobbed. "Dusknoir sir…You really are a bad guy after all!"

The Sableye closed in, and Dusknoir charged up a Shadow Ball. Primal Dialga stood above watching closely in case anything funny happened. "Come on! We can't give up! We've got to think!" said Piplup. "But…there's nothing we can do!" said Grovyle. Kana just stood there stone-still, reeling from Dusknoir's revelations. "Maybe I could Teleport you all into the Passage of Time?" Celebi suggested. "Yes! Thank you, Celebi!" said Piplup. "Now DO IT!!"

Right as the Sableye converged, Celebi grabbed everyone and warped to right in front of the Passage of Time. Even though Primal Dialga broke their warp path, they were an arm's width away. "Now go!" shouted Celebi. "Prevent the planet's paralysis…Change history! And don't worry about me! I can't be caught!" Grovyle grabbed Kana and Piplup and jumped right in. "Thanks, Celebi! Goodbye!" Kana, Piplup, and Grovyle fell though the time stream, headed back at last.

Celebi called after them, "Do it, please! **You all are the true Heroes of Time!**" With that, she teleported away before Dusknoir could reach her. The Passage of Time also vanished, reduced to a mere ball of crackling light.

Back to the past!

Kana, Grovyle, and Piplup woke up on the same familiar beach. When they realized where they were, they rejoiced. "WE'RE BACK! WE'RE BACK! WE'RE BAAAAAAACK!" cried Kana and Piplup. They danced around each other, ecstatic to be out of danger. Grovyle smiled. _I've finally found Kana…and a second chance._

They snuck their way through Treasure Town, not wanting to be seen (especially Grovyle). Along the way, Kana and Piplup heard with dismay that even though the Time Gears were returned, time was still frozen. And worse yet, the problem was spreading! Piplup led them to Sharpedo Bluff, where he used to live before he joined the guild. Kana thought that this was a suitable place for him since it was right above the sea. By then, it was afternoon. While Kana and Piplup fell asleep, Grovyle snuck out and secretly headed towards Fogbound Lake.

Just as he hoped, he found Uxie when he arrived. "Who's there!?" shouted Uxie, like usual. "Wait, Uxie! Calm down and listen for a second! I need your help!"

"Huh? You need…my help?" Uxie was quick to calm down since he was more rational than most. "What for?"

In the end, Uxie decided to let Grovyle take the Time Gear since time hadn't resumed when it was placed back. It was true. The whole lake was in grayscale and nothing was moving, even when the Time Gear was in its rightful place. But that wasn't just the reason Grovyle came. He convinced Uxie to come along with him to the Sharpedo Bluff. When they arrived, Kana and Piplup were still sleeping, so Grovyle had to wake them up.

"*Zzzzk*-huh? Uxie? What are you…doing here?" asked Kana.

"Grovyle brought me here. Now, hold still please." said Uxie.

Kana had no idea why, but she stood still anyway. Uxie placed his arm over Kana's forehead and scanned. "What…are you doing…?" asked Piplup, but was shushed by Grovle. "Don't disturb him."

"Your memories weren't completely erased. They were fractured. There is still time to fix them before they disintegrate forever." concluded Uxie.

Piplup was confused. "HUH?"

"Wha--wait a--are you saying I can get my memories back? Really!?" said Kana.

"Yes." affirmed Uxie. "But…I sense mostly painful memories and not many happy ones. That said…it's now or never. Do you really wish for your memories to be restored? Are you sure…you won't regret it?"

Kana jumped at the opportunity. "Yes! Yes! Yes! I want to remember again!! Especially if I had any memories of Grovyle!" Piplup sobbed, "I'm so happy for you, Kana! You're finally getting your memories back! And I'm glad I was able to keep my promise!"

"Then so be it. Kana…look into my eyes." said Uxie. Then turning to Piplup and Grovyle, said "I advise you two not to look there. You don't want your memories getting erased in the process."

For a long time that seemed to Kana like an eternity, she stared into Uxie's perpetually closed eyes. And then…**he opened them!**

Kana stood transfixed and froze up for a second. And then, all the memories from her past life came flooding back! Everything…from Mama and Papa and their experiments…to Treecko…to the execution (Ouch. Maybe she shouldn't have remembered that.)…to Treecko's evolution…and Celebi…Dusknoir and Primal Dialga (Ouch. Maybe not that either.)…to the adventure…to Garchomp and Sceptile…to the narrow Stockade escapes…and finally, the fact that she came to this world accepting the fact that she would disappear if she succeeded. That memory came as the greatest shock.

But it was only for a second. Then she looked at Grovyle…and realized that he was her best friend, and that she kept hurting him all this time!

"GROVYLE!!!" she cried, while jumping up to hug him. And right in the middle of the jump, she glowed with a bright white light…and turned into a human again!

"YOU'RE BACK! YOU'RE BACK! YOU'RE BAAAACK!!"

Grovyle was taken aback at the fact that he was suddenly being hugged by someone 1 foot taller than him instead of expecting it from someone 1/3 his height. But when he saw Kana's very familiar black hair, brown rugged clothes, and her eyes' familiar warm glow, his heart danced for joy. _She remembers me! She remembers me! _And for the very first time, tears formed in his eyes, too. "Kana…I'm glad you're back! I missed you so much!" _I thought she would never remember me again! But she's here! The true Kana I've known for all these years is here! I finally found her!_

"I'M SO SORRY, GROVYLE!" Kana still sobbed. "I shouldn't have hurt you so much!" _He was already hurting at the fact we were separated, and I still shot so many Flamethowers at him! I can't believe I did that! He was hurting all alone!_

"That's okay, Kana! I shouldn't have hurt you too!" Grovyle felt even more terrible at the fact he also tried to attack her.

"GROVYLE!!"

"KANA!!"

Even Uxie, the normally cool, calculating knowledge Pokémon, had to shed a few tears at this scene of reunification. _This really was the right thing to do, _he thought.

Piplup, on the other hand, was freaking out like heck. "Ah…ah…" He backed up against the wall as far as he could go. That "thing" hugging Grovyle…He never saw anything like it in his whole life! "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"

This scream brought an abrupt end to Kana and Grovyle's tearful reunion. "Huh?"

"ALIEN! ALIEN! ALIEN!" Panicking, Piplup ran back and forth, suddenly forgetting where the exit stairs were. "KANA! HELP!" He then tucked himself up in a hyper tight ball, covered his head with his flipper arms and screamed, "DON'T PROBE ME! DON'T TIE ME UP! DON'T STRAP ME DOWN! DON'T TAKE SOME POINTY THING AND STICK IT INTO ME, PLEASE! NOOOOOOOO!!", completely oblivious to the fact that he screaming a parody of the Skua who was trying to eat Mumble from Happy Feet.

Grovyle looked uncomfortable. Kana, realizing she was causing Piplup's distress, immediately went to calm him down. "It's okay, Piplup, it's okay…" she whispered, while gently petting his head. Piplup slowly opened an eye…and then screamed "AAH!" He closed them again. As she continued to try to soothe him, she glowed…and Kana realized she turned back into a Torchic.

Finally, Piplup calmed down. "Kana…what were…how did you…?"

"That was a bonus." explained Uxie. "When I repaired her memories, I also found out how she was turned into a Torchic. I repaired that so that she could switch between being a human and a Torchic whenever she wanted to."

"Thank you so much, Uxie!" said Kana. Then turning to Grovyle and Piplup, asked "Which one do you guys like best?"

"I like the human!" "I like Torchic!" Grovyle and Piplup, respectively, said simultaneously. They then glared at each other. "Oh…I see." said Kana. _This is going to be complicated…_ "Anyway, Piplup, why did you think I was an alien?"

Piplup yelled, "Because that's what you WERE!!"

"Like this?" she asked, glowing and turning into a human.

"YES, YOU ARE!!"

Kana groaned. "Why does all this alien stuff keep happening to me?"

______________________________________

"But Kana…I never expected you to be that very same Kana…"

It was nighttime. Uxie had already gone back to his Fogbound Lake. In Piplup's home overlooking the sea, Kana (as a Torchic), Grovyle, and Piplup were all sitting in a circle. Kana easily made the campfire in the middle with a single Ember. "It sure is easier to make fires, though!" she smiled. Then she noticed, "Hey! You don't mind it?"

"Of course not. Remember, you helped me get used to them?"

"Oh yeah…"

"Grovyle? What do you mean, you and Kana were partners?" asked Piplup. So Grovyle and Kana told him everything, from the day they met to the first Dimensional Scream, to meeting Celebi, to their mission, to escaping from Dusknoir and Sablye, ["by the way, Dusknoir might be coming back. We should lie low for a while."] and finally their time-travel accident.

"Wait, what!? Dusknoir is coming back!?" said Kana.

"Judging by his annoying persistence, Primal Dialga probably sent him right back to stop us once again. That's why we should keep a low profile," explained Grovyle.

"Grrrr…" Kana's blood seemed to boil as she remembered everything that Dusknoir just did. For some reason, she then revered into a human. "I can't believe his nerve! First, he executes my parents. Then, he gives me nightmares! And after that, he keeps trying to execute ME! And then he tricks me into trusting him so that he could pull us into the future just because my memories were fractured! And he made me think that **you **were the bad guy, Grovyle! "Inferior being", huh!? The next time we meet, I'LL SHOW HIM! I'LL SHOW HIM!! I'LL SHOW--"

SPLOOOSH! Kana's ranting was suddenly cut off as she felt a huge clump of water pounded her head and shoulders. Piplup did what he usually did when faced with a tall, terrifying life-form: he soaked her in Brine. "Huh? Kana? AAAH, I'm sorry!" Piplup's normal instinct would've been to blow a Bubblebeam at her, but since she was an "alien"…

"AAAH, KANA! Are you okay!?" Grovyle didn't know whether all that water was harmful to her or not, since she wasn't a Torchic.

For a while, Kana just stood there, dripping wet. Then, while shivering, realized what she just did and said, "Thanks, Piplup. I needed that."

Grovyle chuckled a little. "That's right. You never had an anger management problem." He thought back to the times he was stopped from getting the Time Gears. "How did that happen?"

Piplup explained, "I noticed it ever since those Team Skull meanies started messing with me." He pulled out his Relic Fragment. "But I always stopped her with a Bubblebeam before she caused a forest fire--"

"**Hey**…I prefer to call it an 'indignance-management' problem," said Kana, slightly annoyed. Everyone laughed.

After that was settled, everyone looked at the Relic Stone. "Dusknoir said it was the key to entering the Hidden Land," said Piplup.

Grovyle spoke. "As for me, I'll collect the rest of the Time Gears. I've already got one thanks to Uxie." He showed Kana and Piplup the gear.

"Wha--No fair! I wanted to get that one!" said Kana. "I had a feeling that this was the most important one to me--"

"--because it was where Uxie was. And he fixed your fractured memory. That was probably what you sensed." explained Grovyle.

"Oh." said Kana. She then added, "I wanna go with you to get the Time Gears!"

Piplup chimed in, "Ooo, ooo, me too! Me too!"

"But who's going to find out how that Relic Stone fits into all this?"

Piplup and Kana thought, "Hmm…We'll just leave that up to the guild." As Kana stared at Piplup's Relic Stone and Grovyle's Time Gear, she groaned, "Hey, how come I don't have any special items like that?"

Grovyle remembered, "Oh yeah. Here's your bag, Kana. I've been keeping it in case you ever got your memory back."

Kana took the bag. "Thanks, Grovyle!" She looked inside and found everything in there, including her old fire sticks! "Yeah, I promised to help you get the Time Gear in Dark Crater, didn't I?"

"Yes…" Grovyle sighed. "Even though you can turn into a Torchic now…and you may have new friends and personality changes…you're still you. And none of this changes the fact that you remain my friend. Oh, Kana…I'm so glad to see you again."

"I'm glad to see you, too!"

They hugged again. Piplup finally cried, too. _I'm glad you found out who you were, Kana! I'm sure we'll be best friends too!_

______________________________________

In the middle of the night, Grovyle woke up and noticed that Piplup wasn't in his straw-bed. He climbed up the stairs and saw Piplup outside on the cliff looking at the sea. Kana was awoken by Grovyle's movement and groggily wondered (for only a moment) why the guys were both gone.

"What's wrong?" asked Grovyle. "Can't sleep?"

Piplup was only slightly shocked that Grovyle couldn't sleep either. "No…Just thinking. About everything that happened. Dusknoir…the future…you…and Kana."

Grovyle remembered something he wanted to ask for a while. "Now tell me this, Piplup…When we were cornered by Primal Dialga, how did you manage to not give up hope? Even I had given up."

"Now that you mention it…I don't really know, myself. I think it was because Kana was with me."

"Kana?"

By now, Kana had groggily climbed up some of the stairs, but was jolted awake when she heard her name. _They're talking about me? Ooo…this may be something important. _She stopped in place and didn't reveal herself, hoping to listen to what they had to say about her. (She was glad she was a Torchic so she could hide more easily.)

"Yeah. I used to be the biggest chicken in the world…but now…whenever she's with me, I feel like I can do anything." whispered Piplup.

"I know what you mean." said Grovyle. "Kana has that aura about her…that gives others infinite courage. Even when she herself gives up." He of course was referring to the time he and Kana was captured at the Stockade.

"Oh, look!" Piplup pointed at the sky. "It's sunrise!"

And it was. Grovyle, Piplup, and even Kana (who strained her head to look at the sky from the stairs) gazed at the lightening horizon. The stars began to disappear, and light began to pour in. Slowly, ever so slowly, the great golden disc that was the sun rose majestically over the horizon, with bands of light pinks, purples, oranges, and yellows preceding its arrival. The gradient of the sky gradually changed from the dark starry sky to a gentle, light blue.

"It's beautiful…" whispered Piplup. "I had no idea that a sunrise could feel so refreshing! I guess it's because it's been a long time since I've seen one." He then turned to Grovyle and said "The sun rises…then it sets…We take that for granted, and that's natural. But it's things like those that are the most precious."

"All our lives, the only thing Kana and I have ever known was the future's world of darkness. When I came to this world, and upon seeing a sunrise for the first time…it was staggering. But it strengthened my resolve more than ever to turn this world away from a future of darkness. I'm sure Kana felt the same way."

Watching the sky right now, with her restored memories…Kana **did **feel the same way. _It's…so…beautiful… _She felt like she truly was seeing it for the first time…but with all its wonderful qualities. She stepped out and sat down next to Grovyle, all still staring at the wondrous sight. "Yes…You're right, Grovyle. We **have** to save the future."

Grovyle and Piplup were momentarily shocked at the fact that Kana snuck up on them so quietly, but it didn't matter. They continued to take in the entire view for hours, thinking, _We __**will**__ save the future…no matter what happens._

______________________________________

So anyway, Kana (as a Torchic) and Piplup were welcomed back into the guild, explained everything that happened, fought against Chatot's vehement arguments, and won the support of the guild's crew. Master Wigglytuff began investigating the pattern on the Relic Fragment and went to find where he last saw such a marking. And after that was over, Kana and Piplup joined Grovyle and traveled across the land to gather all the Time Gears again.

Through these mystery dungeons, the three of them (especially Kana) became much more powerful while battling the wild Pokémon. At first, Piplup was shocked when he found that even though the Time Gears were returned, time was still stopped. Grovyle explained that it was a sure sign of Temporal Tower beginning to collapse. They then made great haste, but enjoyed the time they spend together. Grovyle in particular was proud of Kana's new power as a Torchic. And when they reached Dark Crater, Kana (as a Torchic) was able to cross all the lava and grabbed the Time Gear herself. They then had all six. They were ready to go to Temporal Tower and save the planet!

To be continued…


	10. The Last Adventure

Chapter 10: The Last Adventure

Master Wigglytuff said he knows where the Relic Fragment pattern is!

So Kana, Grovyle, and Piplup all traveled through Brine Cave with the rest of the guild in several groups. When they reached the halfway point, however…

Team Skull suddenly burst in from behind, tackled Piplup, and stole his Relic Fragment again! At first, Chatot was confused as to why their behavior was much more coarse than usual. But they actually had to _explain_ that the guild was full of naïve fools who didn't see their true motives. [Kana said icily: "For once, I actually **agree** with you guys."] Grovyle was just confused since he never saw them before, so Piplup had to explain to him that these were the guys that caused Kana's anger management problem.

With that, Chatot was enraged. He couldn't believe that he was being hoodwinked by them all this time. Kana was outraged that it took him this long to figure it out. By this time, Team Skull ran away towards the bottom of the cave. Chatot flew after them all outraged, and Kana also followed, hoping to give them a piece of her mind again. Grovyle realized that Team Skull just stole the object he needed to get to the Hidden Land, so he ran after everyone, dragging the slower Piplup along.

Kana and Chatot didn't seem to notice that Team Skull was lying in a heap on the ground. Kana blew three more Flamethrowers at them, while Chatot gave them a huge scolding about being evil. By the time Piplup and Grovyle arrived, Chatot had already proceeded forward, while Kana was already walking away in the same direction.

"AAAAAAH! Are you okay!?" shouted Piplup. He ran to the beat-up Team Skull. "Huh?" Kana couldn't believe what she was hearing. Piplup…feeling sorry for them?

Skuntank couldn't, either. "Chaw-haw-haw…You find us at your mercy…and you're actually worried about us? You're a stupid one."

"But when you're like this…we can't just walk away!" said Piplup.

Kana was angry that Piplup was acting this way. "What are you talking about, Piplup!? They've been JERKS TO US ALL THIS TIME!! WE'VE GOTTA MAKE THEM PAY! WE HAVE TO! WE--"

BLIP-POP-POP-POP! "Calm down, Kana!" Piplup shot a Bubblebeam at her to stop her from losing control. "AAAAH!!" she yelled, falling to the ground, rubbing her head. The attack was rather dizzying.

"Chaw-haw-haw…She's right…You two went through some downright rotten times because of us…"

"True…I admit that you made us really mad over this and that…" said Piplup, sadly. "But when I see you all injured like this…I can't pass by anyone who needs help! Even…if it's you guys…"

Grovyle and Kana listened in amazement. Kana thought, _He…he can bring himself to forgive them? Even after they hurt us so much? How could he have such a big heart? __**How?**_

Then Skuntank "accidentally" dropped the stolen Relic Stone, and Piplup picked it up. "Thanks, Skuntank." he said. "Be sure to get your team out okay. Kana, Grovyle… …let's go." Piplup walked ahead. With their jaws still dropped in disbelief, Kana and Grovyle followed without a word.

Kana, Piplup, and Grovyle found a cove with its mouth open to the sea. On the wall, there was a strange pattern with wings pointing in intermediate directions--exactly the same as the Relic Fragment. And suddenly, the Relic Fragment began to glow!

"Huh??"

They watched in awe as the fragment floated upwards and the pattern glowed. Then a beam shot out of the wall pattern and straight out towards the sea!

"So the Hidden Land is out there…" whispered Grovyle.

"Looks like we're going to have to swim there—ULP!" remarked Piplup, covering his mouth after realizing what he just said.

Too late. "WHAT!? We HAVE to!?" Kana exclaimed. She found out she didn't know how to swim until the trip to Dark Crater, and didn't want to go through that again.

Then Grovyle noticed a shadow in the distance. "Wait, wait. Look!"

The shadow got closer and closer…and revealed itself to be a water-type transport Pokemon. It was Lapras! Lapras explained that he could take them all to the Hidden Land. "Whew…" sighed Kana. _We don't have to swim there!_

On Lapras's back, Grovyle sat in front, while Kana and Piplup sat behind. As they traveled across the sea all night, Lapras told them the story of how Master Wigglytuff and Chatot discovered Brine Cave's pattern a long time ago. Apparently Chatot saved Master Wigglytuff from being ambushed by Kabutops and the Omastar brothers, and in doing so, his life was in serious danger. Lapras had to swim by. Master Wigglytuff made a promise: If Chatot's life could be saved, then he will never tell anyone about the pattern. Ever. But now that Temporal Tower is collapsing…

"Dialga hid Temporal Tower in a gap in time so that **no one** could ever destroy it. But just in case it ever needed to be saved, he left one key to enter it. That key was the Relic Fragment," explained Lapras.

"My…Relic Fragment?" asked Piplup. "I found it on the beach one afternoon."

"The Relic Fragment only makes its way to the most pure-hearted Pokemon in the world. That Pokemon…was you, Piplup."

"But what about those times those Team Skull creeps stole it? THEY certainly weren't pure hearted!" noted Kana.

"It brought misfortune to them, didn't it?" asked Lapras. "The Relic Fragment will never let itself be used by evil ones. It will do whatever is necessary to get back to its rightful owner. (Such as…draining Koffing and Zubat's power…and attracting Kabutops and the Omastar brothers…and even internally punishing Skuntank.)"

"Oh…" Kana now understood. "A pure-hearted Pokemon…Piplup?"

"Uh, yes?"

"So **that's** how you were able to forgive them! Even though they did so many bad things to us…You still forgave them! But I--!" She started crying again. "I never could! Why!? What's wrong with me!? Am I not…that pure-hearted after all!?"

Lapras explained, "You and Grovyle came from the future. Of course the Relic Fragment couldn't choose either of you. It was long gone by your time!"

Grovyle, now used to these dramatic moments, said, "You're the most pure-hearted person to me, Kana. And besides…we all are going to save the future."

Kana, drying her tears, said, "You're…you're right. We all have to do this!"

They eventually rested their eyes…because this will be the last chance they'd ever have for sleep before the point of no return.

In the morning, everyone woke up, and Lapras finally saw it. The gap in time. He started to cross the sea of time (everyone thought he was flying) and breached the gap into the Hidden Land! It was a frightening yet wondrous sight; a mass of forest-covered land floating in the middle of a striking golden sky. Purple lighting slashed the place, and above all this, floating on its own, was a giant steel tower with several small holes in it. Temporal Tower! At the top floor was a purplish-red vortex cloud; where the lightning was coming from. Lapras floated to a stop at the dock of land.

Kana, Piplup, and Grovyle, now known as the Heroes of Time, said goodbye to Lapras and fought their way through the Hidden Land. When they reached the Old Ruins at the top, they found a cave full of ancient paintings depicting legendary Pokémon like Mew, Groudon & Kyogre, and Dialga & Palkia, complete with descriptions of their legends and powers. They emerged from the cave and found an altar with an indentation in the middle. "Look, Piplup!" said Kana, pointing. "I think the Relic Stone goes in there!"

"That's quite enough of that."

Suddenly, they were surrounded by a group of Sableye! And then, coming in from the right, was the last person any of them wanted to see--Dusknoir!!

"AAAAH! DUSKNOIR!" Piplup freaked out.

"**You…**" Kana growled, forgetting her "pure-hearted" resolution.

"How did you find us here!?" asked Grovyle in disbelief.

"Oh, it's quite simple." sighed Dusknoir, clearly getting tired of having to say that over and over again. "We knew you would come here, so Master Dialga warped us to this exact spot. What took you so long, anyway?"

"Wait--not now--" Piplup was still trying to fit the Relic Stone into the hole.

"Never mind about that. You are coming back to the future…to get the **execution **you all so deeply deserve!Sableye! Drag them to the Dimensional Hole!"

They were pushed along down the stairs, and saw --oh no-- the Dimensional Hole! _NOOOO! I don't wanna go back to the future!! _they thought in a panic. But now that Kana was with them, they definitely wouldn't give up now. Right when they were pushed in front of the hole, they lashed out at once.

"Humph. So you still resist, knowing that it is futile." said Dusknoir, contemptly.

"You expected anything else?" asked Grovyle. It was a rhetorical question.

"You can't fool me anymore!! I know who you are!" shouted Piplup.

"YOU TRIED TO TURN ME AGAINST MY BEST FRIEND, DUSKNOIR!!" screamed Kana. This completely took Dusknoir by surprise. "Excuse me!?"

Now gaining the upper hand, Kana continued, "First, you killed my parents. Then, you harassed me and Grovyle all the time! And then, when I lost my memory, **you didn't tell me you knew me from before! **Instead, you kept it to yourself and made me and Piplup think Grovyle was the bad guy!!" With each accusation, she stepped toward Dusknoir, and he stepped back, getting more shocked by the minute. "Th-this can't be--Kana? You--"

"Regained my memory? Maybe THIS will refresh yours!" She glowed with a blinding light, grew from 1'4" to 4'10"…and turned into a human!

"N…no way…" stammered Dusknoir, not believing his single eye at all.

"You said I was an 'inferior being', huh!?" She turned back into a Torchic. "We'll take you down, Dusknoir! Right here! RIGHT NOW!!"

"We're with you, Kana!" said Piplup and Grovyle. Under normal circumstances Piplup would've blasted her with a Bubblebeam, but…_I'd better hold back. Kana's anger management might actually help us win this time. Besides, I'd like to fight Dusknoir too!_

"I'll…I'll TAKE THAT CHALLENGE, HUMAN!!" Dusknoir charged. So did Kana, Piplup, and Grovyle. Their final confrontation began!

Kana blew several Flamethrowers at Dusknoir right away. And it actually did some damage! But because of his high Special Defense, Dusknoir was able to step through them and charge up a Shadow Punch. Grovyle and Piplup couldn't help because they were swamped by the Sableye (two of the eight got caught in Kana and Dusknoir's crossfire). Right when Dusknoir was about to smash Kana with the attack, he was hit by a Sleep Seed--thrown by Piplup! "Kana!" he yelled. "A little help here!?"

"I'm coming!!" Kana rushed over to help. She thought, _Besides, for some reason, I always get tired faster when fighting Dusknoir. _And she could afford to help since Dusknoir was temporarily asleep. Grovyle defeated a Sableye with a single Leaf Blade strike. Piplup swamped them with several Bubblebeams. And Kana was able to use just Ember to defeat them instantly. It didn't take long to defeat all eight.

By now, Dusknoir woke up thanks to the noise of the battle. He charged straight at Kana to finish his Shadow Punch attack. Grovyle dodged by digging underground. Piplup blew a Bubblebeam to slow him down. And Kana barely dodged every swing Dusknoir threw at her. Then he used the Shadow Sneak trick to trip her and then pummeled her with multiple Shadow Punches! "Kana! NO!" Piplup jumped on Dusknoir and pecked him like crazy.

FWOOSH! Kana fought back with a massive Flamethrower despite getting pummeled. Yep, being a Torchic gave her way more endurance. Then she kicked him into the air, jumped out of the way, and when Dusknoir landed, he landed right when Grovyle emerged from the ground! Piplup, who jumped when Dusknoir was kicked into the air, came in for a landing in a massive fountain of Brine! While Dusknoir was badly weakened, Grovyle, Kana, and Piplup charged up their strongest physical attacks. They charged. Grovyle slashed with a Leaf Blade on Dusknoir's right. Piplup charged with an Aqua Tail--headbutt combo to Dusknoir's left. And Kana dashed right in front of him and hit him square on with a fire-powered kick. All the attacks hit at once!

"GWOH! GWOOOOOOH!" Dusknoir looked at though he was about to faint. And then-- "I'll…I'll NEVER SURRENDER! NEVER!" Instantly, he stood back up and punched the heroes away! "AAAAAH!" they yelled.

"Humph. You've done admirably well for those as pitiful as you…but this is the end!" And then, the mouth on Dusknoir's stomach opened!

Kana gasped. _Oh no! _The freakiness of the whole thing paralyzed her brain. "H-he's going to do something!" gasped Piplup, also slightly freaked out. Dark energy began to gather inside the stomach mouth, reminding Grovyle of his and Kana's first trip through the time stream. _This attack…_ he thought. _That Darkrai did the same thing!_ "Kana! Piplup! Let's force our combined moves down his stomach!"

"Huh?!" Piplup was completely lost. "You want us to do WHAT?" But there was no time for explanation. The giant evil black orb was now complete!

"There's no time! Rebound it! NOW!"

"TAKE THIS!" roared Dusknoir, shooting the orb at them.

Right then, Kana, Piplup, and Grovyle reacted. They shot their strongest elemental moves at the orb, bouncing it the other way--and hit Dusknoir squarely in the stomach! "GWOOOOOH!" Bright white light exploded on impact. When it cleared, Dusknoir collapsed on the ground. He was defeated!

"Wheh…it can't be…Lord Dusknoir! NOOOO!" The defeated Sableye crawled away into the Dimensional Hole as fast as their arms could carry them. Grovyle, barely stifling a laugh, said "You just have no luck attracting reliable allies, Dusknoir." Piplup ran up the stairs to the top, saying "I'm gonna check if my Relic Fragment works, okay!?"

Dusknoir groaned, "Kana…and Grovyle…You do know…that if you change history…We Pokémon of the future will disappear. Is this really…what you want?"

Kana **did **remember. She was startled, and grew angry. Grovyle said, "So? We accepted that from the start!" Kana agreed, "Yeah! And you don't need to remind me! So goodbye, Dusknoir! I DON'T EVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN! **EVER~!!!**"

Kana and Grovyle smacked Dusknoir right back into the Dimensional Hole! "NOOOOO!" he yelled, spinning into the doomed future. And that was the end of Dusknoir.

They stood there for a long time. Kana whispered, "I remember coming here knowing we had nothing to go back to. And absolutely nothing to lose. But…"

"Something did change by your coming to this world, Kana. You found a friend in Piplup. He trusts you, Kana. So if we were to disappear…" Grovyle trailed off, saddened.

"Yes…I know." Kana started to cry. "**He will be all alone.**"

Then Piplup called down the stairs. "Kana! Grovyle! Come on!" They walked up and found that around the Relic Fragment was a huge circle in the ground with glowing edges. "I think this is a ride to take us to Temporal Tower!" he said. As they all walked on, the circle activated. It dismounted from the altar and rose into the air. "We're flying! We're flying! So **this **was what my Relic Fragment was supposed to do!" He was so happy, tears formed in his eyes. It was all he could to stop himself from fainting from sheer happiness.

"I'm glad you fulfilled your life's dream…" whispered Kana. Piplup noticed her tears. "Is something wrong, Kana?"

"Uh, no! No!"

"Well…if you say so. Now let's get to Temporal Tower and save the future!"

"Yes we will. No matter what the cost." said Grovyle

_Yes…_thought Kana. _This will be my last adventure…with Piplup. But we have to do this! We have to! Even if Grovyle and I disappear…and even if Piplup is left all alone and heartbroken…I promised myself! I promised I would fulfill Mama and Papa's last wish! No more revenge. No more trying to make Dusknoir and Team Skull pay for what they did to us. Now we have to save the future lives of everyone here in the past! No matter what it takes!_

The three Heroes of Time stared resolutely forward at Temporal Tower, getting closer all the time. The circular Stoneship carried them forward, leaving a beautiful rainbow-colored trail.

It docked, and they dismounted. They walked forward on the rocky path towards the tower. Kana led the way, followed by Grovyle, and then Piplup. Arriving at the entrance, they found that the tower was dark blue with streaks of red running through the walls. Suddenly, there was a huge tremor! "WHOA!" Luckily, it instantly calmed down.

"That's right…" said Kana. "Temporal Tower is collapsing. We have to find where to place the Time Gears in before it's too late! Let's go, everyone!"

"Let's go." said Grovyle. "YEAH!" agreed Piplup.

They entered. As they climbed towards the top, they fought against Pokémon they've never ever seen before, such as Porygon-Z, Salamence, and Bronzong. And all along the way, the tremors increased in number and became more violent. They ran and ran, and finally reached the top floor.

Piplup gasped. The sky was completely engulfed in a giant red, swirly cloud with purple lightning striking out of it. Kana and Grovyle looked around to see crumbling mud-yellow brick flooring dotted with similarly-colored columns. And up ahead, they saw it. It was a blue altar with a giant circle on its wall. And dotted along the circle were six gear-shaped holes--exactly the same size as the Time Gears!

"There it is, Grovyle!" said Kana, pointing. "The Time Gears are supposed to go there, I just know it!" "Let's go!" agreed Grovyle. They all ran straight towards it. But just as they reached the foot of the altar--a huge bolt of purple lighting struck in front of them! "AAAAH!" they yelled. Piplup added, "I told you to watch out for that creepy lightning!" He was weak to electricity, anyway. Suddenly, the place became pitch-black!

"WHO GOES THERE!?" boomed a loud voice. "HOW DARE YOU COME HERE TO DEFILE TEMPORAL TOWER!!!!"

"No, listen!" stammered Grovyle. "We're here to save it!"

"LIARS!! I KNOW WHY YOU'RE HERE!"

The light cleared. Everyone gasped. For right in front of them, blocking the altar, was the one deity they never wanted to see again--Primal Dialga!! "AAAAAAAAAH!"

"You--you can talk--" Kana staggered away. _There's no way to reason with __**him**__!_

"Primal…Dialga…How did you follow us here!?" stuttered Grovyle.

"That's not Primal Dialga from the future!" said Piplup. "That's the real Dialga! He just went crazy from the tower collapsing!"

"Then listen to us! We're here to save your tower!" yelled Grovyle, showing Dialga the Time Gears. "Hurry up and let us through! We're running out of time!" shouted Kana.

"Time…? Time Gears!? HOW DARE YOU MENTION TIME LIKE THAT TO ME!!" He kicked Kana, Grovyle, and Piplup away. Kana stared into Dialga's eyes and instantly figured it out. "Grovyle…He's blinded by anger. He won't listen to anything now! I know how he feels." Piplup added, "But the tower hasn't collapsed yet! There's still a chance to save his reason!"

"THERE IS NO MERCY FOR TRESPASSERS!! THIS IS YOUR END!!"

Kana, Grovyle, and Piplup nodded. "We have to fight him." Even though Kana and Grovyle shuddered at the memory of them almost being killed by Primal Dialga in the future, they knew they had to do this. Everyone charged. The final battle to save the planet began!

Grovyle jumped up and swung several Leaf Blades at Dialga's neck. Piplup ran around and hit him with a powerful Bubblebeam from behind. And Kana directly shot the most powerful Flamethrower she could at him, after barely dodging several Metal Claw strikes. Then familiar temporal energy glowed around Dialga's mouth. Uh-oh! "It's the Roar of Time!!" Grovyle, instantly realizing this, dug underground. "Wait for me!" Kana jump in right after him. "What about Piplup!?" shouted Grovyle. Kana gasped. Piplup was still shooting Bubblebeams behind Dialga! Luckily, Grovyle quickly tunneled to Piplup's location and pulled him under before the far-reaching roar could begin.

"AAAAAH!" They were all hit by it anyway, but at least it was only at ¼ the impact it normally would've been. When it was over… "Hey! We survived it!" said Kana. Instantly, Grovyle tunneled out and hit Dialga. It was super effective! Kana and Piplup blew their attacks through the hole to hit Dialga, too. "He's tired! Now's our chance! Kana, Piplup, get out of there!" Right when they did so, Grovyle used Agility. Kana and Piplup's speed instantly doubled! So they attacked with the same routine over again. But how come it didn't look like Dialga was close to defeat?

"He's a tough one, all right." said Grovyle, underground again avoiding another Roar of Time. "Of course he is! He's a **legendary Pok****é****mon**! I don't know if we can win!" said Piplup. "We'll just have to keep trying!" said Kana.

As they emerged and continued their routine, Kana noticed that the huge diamond on Dialga's chest was glowing. She tried a Flamethrower on it. And Dialga reacted violently! He stomped the place and staggered, causing the floor to shake. But that was enough. "Grovyle! Piplup! The diamond on his chest--that's his weak point!"

When Grovyle used another Dig, they put their plan into action. Kana, Grovyle, and Piplup combined their Leaf Blade, Flamethrower and Brine attacks--and hit Dialga's diamond all at once!

And Dialga collapsed to the ground, out of commission. "We…did it!"

Kana turned her attention to the altar. "We have to place the Time Gears in there now! Grovyle, Piplup, let's go! Hurry!" They charged, climbed on, and Grovyle spread all six Time Gears in front. Without delay, Grovyle and Piplup grabbed a gear and proceeded to set it in place. But neither Kana's feathered "arms" nor her beak were in any way suitable for grabbing one. The violent tremors of the tower kept causing the gears to slip from her! So she turned into a human again (the light from the transformation blinding Grovyle and Piplup temporarily) and could finally grip it. Grovyle put in two to the left (from Treeshroud Forest and the underwater cave), Piplup put in two to the right (from Mesprit and Azelf's lakes), and Kana already put in the one from Uxie's lake on the bottom. She grabbed the last, most important one…the one from Dark Crater!

"Kana!" yelled Grovyle.

"Kana!" yelled Piplup.

"It's up to you!" they both yelled, hanging on for their lives.

With a pause, she realized that this was the very moment she worked toward. The one that her whole life stood for. "This is for the sake of the world!" shouted Kana to the heavens. She placed it in the final slot, the one only she could reach; the one at the very top!

And then a massive earthquake shook the tower! "AAAAAAAAAHH!" they all yelled. _I don't understand! Are we too late!? Did we do it in time!!??_ A huge thunder bolt struck the altar and filled the whole place with blinding light.

When the light cleared…the tremors stopped. Piplup squeaked, "Did we…?"

"THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH."

They turned around and freaked out. "AAAAH! DIALGA!!"

"Calm down, calm down. I have regained my reason." Dialga made no move.

"Huh?" They rubbed their eyes and found that Dialga's colors were different. He was still the same dark-blue, but a bit lighter. His previously orange bands were now light-blue. But most of all, his eyes and diamond were no longer glowing red. They were a brilliant light-blue!

"Although Temporal Tower has sustained serious damage…it is still standing. Thanks to your selfless actions, time all over the world has restored to normal."

He then projected hologram images in front of them. Images of the tower and the Hidden Land, ravaged, but not destroyed. Images of Treeshroud Forest, the underground cave, Dark Crater, and all three lakes in full color, moving again. Images of Pokémon villages all over the world including Treasure Town, rejoicing that the world has been saved. "Kana Amara…Grovyle…and Piplup…thank you all very much. You all are truly…the Heroes of Time."

Kana and Grovyle followed Piplup back on the path to the stoneship. "That's weird." whispered Grovyle. "We should have disappeared **immediately**."

"Grovyle…are you saying…?" Kana couldn't believe it, welling up with joyful anticipation. _Maybe we __**won't **__have to disappear after all?_

But then, when their movements suddenly became as slow as molasses, their joy was short-lived. "Oh…no…" And they began to glow. _This light…_they thought. _So it wants to give us time to say goodbye. Okay._

Piplup noticed they weren't keeping up. "Kana? Grovyle? What's wrong--" He turned around. "AAAAH! What's happening to you!?"

Grovyle looked down, ashamed. Kana, kneeling down, had to explain. "I'm sorry, Piplup…Ever since my memories were restored, I've kept it to myself for a long time now…but the truth is, if we changed history, all the Pokémon of the future would disappear. Grovyle and I were from 500 years from now. Too much happened since then. Now Grovyle's parents wouldn't meet or be born…my parents wouldn't be abandoned on this planet… We both would've never been born. And that's why…we have to disappear."

Piplup was utterly stunned. "WHAT!? Wh-why? Why now!? Didn't we save the future? Aren't--aren't we friends?"

Grovyle said, "We came from the future knowing full well that this would happen. But we had nothing to go back to, or anything to lose. But when Kana met you, Piplup… We never expected anyone to miss us like this. Thank you for helping us complete our mission. I'm sorry, Piplup."

Piplup started crying again. "Don't go, Kana…You're…my best friend…I don't know what I'd do without you! You've always made me strong, Kana! **I love you!**"

Kana hugged him tight. She was crying, too. "Me too. But…you have to be strong on your own now, Piplup. You have to live! Get home safe…tell everyone about what happened here…so that…nothing like this ever happens again."

Grovyle, with a tear in his eye, noticed that the light was getting brighter. "Kana… Thank you for being the best friend I ever had all this time."

Kana looked straight at him. "You too, Grovyle! You've been saving me all this time, too! I'm glad we could save the world together…"

"So we could see the end together, right?"

"Right."

They both turned. "Goodbye, Piplup." Then to each other:

"Goodbye, Kana…"

"Goodbye, Grovyle!!"

They hugged each other. A second later, the light enveloped them, and a shrill sound came out. Within a few seconds, the bright yellow light disintegrated into the vast recesses of time. Kana and Grovyle had stuck together through all kinds of harrowing situations. They were captured and almost executed at the Stockade several times, chased and become fugitives all their lives in both the past and the future, survived against countless mystery dungeons and wild Pokémon in both times, and even survived the encounter with Primal Dialga. And now…that they finally completed their mission…they finally disappeared, having done the most altruistic deed anyone could ever do. It was the most bittersweet, tragic, yet most desirable way for anyone to die.

"**KANA! GROVYLE! NOOOOOO!!!" **screamed Piplup as they disappeared right in front of him. He flopped right on the spot where they disappeared and cried there for a long time.

Piplup slowly staggered back to the stoneship with tears in his eyes. "I…I have to live…I have to get home alive! Tell everyone…about what happened here…so it never happens again. Because that…was Kana's…last wish."

He boarded the stoneship, traveled back through the ravaged Hidden Land, found Lapras (telling him about what had happened), and sailed with him back to Treasure Town. He told everyone in the guild and in town about all the events that had happened…about Dusknoir…about Grovyle…and about Kana. He told the story wherever and whenever possible. It was a story for a hope of world peace.

Several months later…

Piplup went out by a walk by the beach. The setting sun shone magnificently against the sea and the pretty bubbles the Krabby were blowing. "Woooow" he breathed. "It's been so long since I've seen this. When was the last time, anyway?" He thought…and then he looked at the familiar location where a Torchic was last seen washed up on the shore…and then tears welled up in his eyes. "That's right." he sobbed. "The last time…was the day I met Kana…" He thought back to all his adventures with her, creating an exploration team, finding out her lost memories, befriending her best friend Grovyle, escaping from the Stockade, solving the mystery of his Relic Fragment, saving the planet…and her last moments outside of Temporal Tower. He was glad the planet was saved, and its scars from the time-stops were healing, but… "WAAAAAH! Kana! Grovyle! I MISS YOU SO MUCH! COME BACK! PLEASE!!"

But no one came.

The End…?


	11. To a Brighter Future For All Time!

Final Chapter: To a Better, Brighter Future for All Time!

"Piplup…When Kana and Grovyle had to disappear…I felt your sorrow even from the tower. And if you still feel that way even now…and if they were to share those same feelings…I have a gift for you. Meet me at Temporal Tower as soon as you can."

Piplup was startled. _What was that voice? Was it…Dialga's? Could it be…? _Luckily, Lapras was right by. Piplup explained what he heard to Lapras and jumped on for a ride back to the Hidden Land. They traveled as the sun set.

They traveled all night long. _Come on, hurry up! _thought Piplup. But he also knew how long it took to get there, so he forced himself to go to sleep. In the morning, Lapras woke Piplup up when the Hidden Land was in sight. After Lapras crossed the sea of time and docked there, Piplup jumped off and ran as fast as he could, not noticing that the land was at least half as fixed as it was before. He reached the stoneship, rode it to a partially repaired Temporal Tower, climbed up to the top (easily handling the Pokémon inside) and arrived at the pinnacle. As promised, Dialga was already there.

"I've been waiting for you."

"Dialga? What is it?" Piplup asked. "Is this about Kana and Grovyle?"

"Yes. It is. I now believe that the world still needs you all. If your really wish, with all your heart, to bring Kana and Grovyle back--"

"OF COURSE!! You can really do that? PLEASE!?" Piplup was desperate.

"Then so be it. I give to you…the future!" GRROOOOOOOOOH!!

Dialga roared into the sky. Piplup noticed that the fabric of time seemed to distort momentarily. And then, right in between him and Dialga…was a ball of yellow light forming out of thin air! _Could it be? Could it be? _Piplup's hopes soared.

The light cleared to reveal…Kana, Grovyle and surprisingly, Celebi! They were all unconscious, though.

"KANA! GROVYLE!! YOU'RE BACK! YOU'RE BACK! YOU'RE BAAAACK!!!" Piplup, exploding with happiness, rushed to them and shook them awake.

"Nnngh…Huh?" Kana was the first to awaken. "We're alive?"

"Kana?" asked Grovyle. "I think…we are."

Kana looked around. "We're alive! WE'RE ALIVE, GROVYLE!!!"

"KANA!!" They hugged each other for a long time until they noticed Piplup shouting, "HEY! What about me!?"

"PIPLUP!!" Now it was a triple hug.

Grovyle explained, "It was so weird! It felt like we were in complete nothingness for only a few hours! Or maybe it was a few months…? Who cares!"

"How did we…?" asked Kana.

"I brought the three of you back from the vast recesses of time." answered Dialga.

"THANK YOU SO MUCH, DIALGA!!!" they all shouted. Dialga smiled. _**Finally, **__someone who appreciates my hard work._

"Wait." said Kana. "The **three **of us? Piplup didn't disappear! So who--?" She noticed that her leg was suddenly uncomfortable. She looked down to find--she was sitting on Celebi!! "AAAAAH!! **I'm so sorry**!" she screamed, jumping off of her.

Everyone stifled a laugh. And now Celebi woke up. "Nngh…huh? I thought the whole world was vaporizing, and I would finally be spared--My dear Grovyle!!!" She zoomed right towards Grovyle and hugged his arm. "YOU'RE BAAAAACK!!"

"Hey--what--Why did you bring **her **back, too!?" Grovyle said while trying to shake Celebi off.

"I thought you might want to time-travel to see the new future you helped create." said Dialga. His real thoughts were_ I also felt sorry for Celebi, too._

"We can see the new future?" asked Kana.

"Hold on, hold on. Let's go to Treasure Town first. We don't want everyone to worry when we've disappeared for 500 years, you know." said Grovyle.

"Oh." They all laughed.

Dialga stepped aside to show everyone a column with a familiar black shadow attached to it. "By the way, I found the one who originally sabotaged Temporal Tower."

Kana and Grovyle gasped. "Darkrai!"

But Darkrai wasn't acting all evil and dastardly like he did when they last saw him. In fact, being bound up by a red chain, he looked like he didn't deserve to be there. "Who what where? Where am I? Why am I tied up like this? Who am I, anyway? WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON IN HERE!? Somebody say something!!!" he drawled.

"He lost his memory when Grovyle rebounded his attack right at him. He's no longer a threat, so I'm leaving him like this instead of executing him." explained Dialga. Now everyone understood.

"So he wanted to make this world into the terrible world of the future that I've lived in for so long…" concluded Kana. "It feels so weird that our lives were brought together and ruined just because of this guy. Don't you think so too, Grovyle?"

"Yeah," said Grovyle. "It really is weird…"

"I think it's just absolutely **ludicrous!**" giggled Celebi.

They all laughed, looking at the utterly confused Darkrai.

"Why's everyone laughing, anyway?" he asked.

So naturally, Lapras was pretty shocked to find he was going to carry 3 more people back. But at least he was happy to see everyone, too! They crossed the sea, and that night, while everyone was sleeping on Lapras's back (it was getting pretty crowded now) Kana had the most important dream she ever remembered having.

[Kana was floating in a dark void. She somehow sensed that this was the temporal continuum. Two vaguely familiar figures materialized in front of her. "Kana…" they whispered. And in that instant, upon hearing their voices, Kana knew who they were.

"Mama!? Papa!?"

"You remember us!" said Jean Amara, looking very much relieved.

"But…why are you here? I thought--"

Roy Amara proceeded to explain. "The great Dialga wanted us to tell you about why he didn't--I mean, couldn't--bring us back, too. Just in case you were wondering."

"I don't know…" said Kana. "I mean, I've missed you too…but Grovyle and Piplup have been my best friends all this time…"

Mrs. Amara explained, "It's true that Dialga couldn't bring us back because we were executed in the world of the future. But it's also because we didn't want to be brought back, either."

"Huh? Why?" asked Kana.

"Because, looking back on it now, we think we deserved it. It may be hard for you to understand, Kana, but in the human community (before we were banished to Planet Portania) we were considered as dangerous mavericks. We experimented with time just because we could. Naturally, it was very controversial."

"AUTO was right. Changing anything in the past could devastate everything in the future. Darkrai was proof of that."

Kana suddenly thought back to Temporal Tower. "What? Are you saying that what Grovyle, Piplup and I did was bad--?"

"No, Kana…your case was an exception. We just want to say…that we're proud of you. Thank you for staying alive…and saving the planet."

Kana smiled. All the trials and tribulations of her life were finally worth it.

Jean hastily added, "Besides, we still can't understand that alien language. But you can. So go on. Enjoy your new life! You really are independent now, anyway."

Kana had to ask one more thing. "Mama? Papa? Now that we changed the future and saved the world…what happened to us on that Axiatomic Link thingy? Is there going to be another one of me somewhere?"

Roy said, "Don't worry. We'll show you what happened!"

A hologram popped up between Roy and Jean, showing the flagship that was the Axiatomic Link. Zooming inside, it showed Roy and Jean being reprimanded by AUTO again. The monitor next to AUTO beeped, and showed Planet Portania…which was now a beautiful planet full of life. "Oh no, this won't do." said AUTO. He pressed to the next nearby body, which said,

Upcoming asteroid: 32 light-years away and counting.

AUTO decided this was better and slowed the ship to land on the asteroid. His security guards booted Mr. & Mrs. Amara, Kana, and the equipment out onto the deserted rock. The ship then flew away.

"Those versions of us died within minutes after that due to an oxygen dearth. So, no. There won't be any evil twins running around." concluded Roy.

"We'll always be here in your dreams, whenever you need us." said Jean. "Now have fun, Kana! Grovyle and Piplup really are good friends for you."

"Thank you so much, Mama and Papa!"]

Then Kana woke up and told everyone about the dream. It took so long, they talked the whole way to Treasure Town. Once they arrived, the Pokémon there were overjoyed and amazed to see that the real Heroes of Time have come back. They threw a huge celebration in their honor. After several weeks of traveling to villages across the world, Kana, Grovyle, Piplup, and Celebi decided to see what the future was like now.

"I can't wait to see it, too!" chirped Celebi. She generated a ball of temporal energy in her hands and thrust it against a wall. It formed another Passage of Time!

"Time to travel! Let's go!"

"YEAH!!" Kana, Grovyle, and Piplup all cheered.

All of them (including Celebi) jumped straight into the Passage of Time!

500 years into the future! (The same time as when Kana and Grovyle and Celebi once lived.)

When Kana, Grovyle, Piplup, and Celebi emerged from the Passage of Time, they found a world much better than it ever was! Treasure Town looked unrecognizable--yet they could still tell it was Treasure Town! The new technology there was stunning.

Everyone greeted them enthusiastically. It turns out that everyone was waiting for the Heroes of Time to come back! They were famous! They were taken to see statues for each and every one of them!

"WOW! So this is the future now…We're heroes now, Kana! We're heroes!" Piplup was so happy, he had tears in his eyes.

"And the best part is…we helped to create it." said Grovyle.

"We can live here?" asked Kana, since the original dystopian future was now gone.

"Of course! And don't worry…we're going to travel back and forth between our two times whenever we want to." said Celebi.

So Kana was given an awesome new orange-yellow costume and an official stage to practice fire-dancing. Grovyle was given the sprawling jungle he always dreamed of. Piplup was given a cute water-house with a fantastic view of the ocean at sunset. And Celebi, of course, was finally able to live out her wildest romantic fantasies! (Okay, so maybe Grovyle thought that was really wrong, but…) Thanks to the romantically-colored sunsets of the future, even Piplup had romantic fantasies of his own (Okay…maybe let's not get into that, either).

And in the end, Kana, Grovyle, Piplup and Celebi, officially known as the Heroes of Time, traveled between the two times for tons of adventures together. They were grateful for being given the chance to live again.

And they all lived happily ever after!

The End!!!


End file.
